Jump to content

St. Hedwig's Cathedral

Coordinates:52°30′57″N13°23′41″E/ 52.51583°N 13.39472°E/52.51583; 13.39472
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
St. Hedwig's Cathedral
St. Hedwig's Cathedral in 2018
Religion
AffiliationRoman Catholic
ProvinceArchdiocese of Berlin
Year consecrated1773
Location
LocationMitte,Berlin, Germany
Architecture
Architect(s)Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff(original)
Hans Schwippert (reconstruction)
StyleBaroque(original)
post-war modernism(reconstruction)
Completed1887 (original)
1963 (reconstruction)
Direction of façadenorth-west
Website
hedwigs-kathedrale.de

St. Hedwig's Cathedral(German:St.-Hedwigs-Kathedrale) is theCatholiccathedral of theArchdiocese of BerlinonBebelplatzin thehistoric centreof Berlin. Dedicated toHedwig of Silesia,it was erected from 1747 to 1887 by order ofFrederick the Greataccording to plans byGeorg Wenzeslaus von KnobelsdorffinBaroque style.Damaged during theAllied bombing in World War II,the cathedral's interior was restored from 1952 to 1963 inpost-war modernist styleas part of the rebuilding of the Forum Fridericianum on Bebelplatz. Since 2018, thelisted buildinghas been closed for renovation, and is expected to reopen in the Fall of 2024.[1]

History and architecture

[edit]
Interior in June 2014

St. Hedwig's Church was built in the 18th century following a request from local parishioners to KingFrederick II.He donated the land on which the church was built. The church was dedicated to the patron ofSilesiaandBrandenburg,SaintHedwig of Andechs. It was the first Catholic church built inPrussiaafterthe Reformation.The building was designed byGeorg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorffand modelled after thePantheon in Rome.[2]

Construction started in 1747, but was interrupted and delayed several times by economic problems. It was not opened until 1 November 1773, when the king's friend,Ignacy Krasicki,theBishop of Warmia(laterArchbishop of Gniezno), officiated at the cathedral's consecration.[2]

After theKristallnachtpogroms that took place on the night of 9–10 November 1938,Bernhard Lichtenberg,acanonof thecathedral chapterof St. Hedwig since 1931, prayed publicly for Jews at evening prayer. Lichtenberg was later jailed by the Nazis and died on the way to theconcentration campatDachau.[3] In 1965, Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg's remains were transferred to thecryptat St. Hedwig's Cathedral.

The cathedral was severely damaged byAllied bombingin an air raid on 1 March 1943. Only the damaged shell of the building was left standing. Reconstruction started in 1952 and on 1 November 1963, All Saints' Day, the new high altar was consecrated by the Bishop of Berlin, Alfred Cardinal Bengsch.[4]

Between 1949 and 1990, St. Hedwig's was inEast Berlin,under the control of the East German government.

The cathedral closed for major renovations on 1 September 2018. The relics of Bl. Bernhard Lichtenberg have been transferred to the crypt ofMaria Regina Martyrumduring the cathedral's renovation.[2]The church ofSt. Josephin Wedding is the interim location forpontifical masses.A focal point of the renovations is a hemispherical altar composed of small stones from around the diocese collected by parishioners, based on an idea proposed by Austrian artistLeo Zogmayer.[1]

Tapestries

[edit]

Fitting to the character of the liturgical season, a huge tapestry is hanging behind thecathedra.The cathedral owns three of them; all three share the motif of the heavenly Jerusalem.[5]

The tapestry of formerBauhausstudentMargaretha Reichardt(Grete Reichardt) (1907–1984) ofErfurtwas handwoven in 1963. It depicts a stylised city with the names of the apostles inscribed on foundation stones. God is represented by theTree of Lifeand a lamb features as a symbol of Christ.Anton Wendling[de](1891–1965) made a colorfulappliquéwork. It is a geometric composition using themes from theBook of Revelation.The three-part woven carpet made byElse Bechteler-Moses[de](born 1933) was made in cooperation with Nürnberger Gobelinmanufaktur GmbH, a tapestry weaving company, between 1979 and 1981. This also uses themes from Revelations.

Burials in the crypt

[edit]
[edit]
  • Historical images
  • drawing of the cathedral by Joseph Maximilian Kolb, 1850
    drawing of the cathedral by Joseph Maximilian Kolb, 1850
  • photograph of the cathedral, 1886
    photograph of the cathedral, 1886
  • interior view, ca. 1780
    interior view, ca. 1780
  • historic interior view before air raids 1943
    historic interior view before air raids 1943
  • ruins of the cathedral, 1946
    ruins of the cathedral, 1946
  • Interior
  • altar column
    altar column
  • organ in the lower church
    organ in the lower church
  • tomb of Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg in the lower church
    tomb of BlessedBernhard Lichtenbergin the lower church

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abVosshenrich, Ursula; Gräf, Carmen (November 1, 2023)."Das neue Herzstück von St. Hedwig"(in German). rbb24.RetrievedJanuary 20,2024.
  2. ^abc"History of St. Hedwig's Cathedral".St.Hedwigs Kathedrale Berlin(in German).Retrieved28 April2023.
  3. ^"Bernhard Lichtenberg - the righteous among the nations".Yad Vashem.Retrieved28 April2023.
  4. ^"Destruction and reconstruction".St. Hedwigs Kathedrale Berlin.Archived fromthe originalon 14 April 2018.Retrieved19 October2016.
  5. ^"Interior".St.Hedwigs Kathedrale Berlin.Archived fromthe originalon 18 August 2016.Retrieved19 October2016.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toSt. Hedwig's Cathedral (Berlin).

52°30′57″N13°23′41″E/ 52.51583°N 13.39472°E/52.51583; 13.39472

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=St._Hedwig%27s_Cathedral&oldid=1216615382"