St. Mary’s Church

9/10/2018

“Marienkirche” (St. Mary’s Church) is the oldest religious structure in Berlin. Located near Alexanderplatz in the center of the city, it is the seat of the Bishop for the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia.

While the exact age of the Church is unknown, it was first mentioned in German chronicles dated 1292, with an estimated construction date somewhere around 1250, as a Roman Catholic Church for the newly established town of Berlin. The foundation was constructed of fieldstone, while the body of the Church was made of red brick in the Brick Gothic style. It’s design was based on the churches of the Mendicant Order (poor itinerant friars). Late in the 14th century, St. Mary’s was damaged by fire and later rebuilt. Following the Protestant Reformation, the church’s affiliation became Lutheran.

During 1789, the building underwent a complete overhaul by the same master builder who created the Brandenburg Gate , Carl Gotthard Langhans. Twenty-six years later, the congregation joined the Prussian Union of Churches.

While performing restoration work in 1860, a 1454 mural known as the “Dance of Death” was discovered beneath some white washed walls. Measuring 72 feet long by six feet tall, this mural has become the centerpiece of the Church.

The building suffered significant damage during World War II. Following the war, this part of the city was East Berlin, so the East German government undertook restoring the Church. Located within the building is the tomb of Field Marshal Otto Christoph Von Sparr ( (1599 to 1688), an Imperial officer during the Thirty Years War. In 1719, Carl Hildebrand Freiherr Von Canstein, founder of the oldest bible society in the world - the Canstein Bible Institute was buried here.

Today, St.. Mary’s stands in open spaces around Alexanderplatz (the densely populated buildings previously situated around the church having been destroyed during WW II, and the ruins cleared by the East German government). Behind it is the massive television tower we posted about in a previous blog piece.

In the plaza towards the front of St. Mary’s is the outline of what was once (1786) the house of Moses Mendelssohn. A philosopher and important figure in the textile industry of Berlin, he was the grandfather of the famous German composer, Felix Mendelssohn.

St. Mary’s, the oldest church in Berlin, is located near Alexanderplatz in the center of the city.

Beginning its life as a Roman Catholic Church during the mid-13th century, it is now part of the Lutheran community.

While not as ostentatious of other religious structures that we’ve visited, it is still a beautiful structure.

It always amazed us that church organs were also decorated with fancy scrollwork.

A 72 foot long by 6 foot tall mural entitled “The Dance of Death” (1454), discovered in 1860 under some whitewash on the walls, has become the centerpiece of the church.