Details
Keywords Change this
Project timeline
1930 – 1933
Type
Religious
Location Change this
10717 Berlin
Germany
www.hohenzollerngemeinde.de
Current state
Original
Also known as Change this
Kirche am Hohenzollernplatz
Architect Change this
Team
Ossip Klarwein
Hohenzollernplatz Church Change this
Description Change this
Fritz Hoeger’s impressive brick church was built between the years 1930 to 1933. It has steep walls with a sleek, high tower which can be intimidating when up close. The red brick building with a green copper roof is an example of German brick expressionism as well as an example of expressionist church architecture. A key characteristic is the calculated dramatic lighting ("light as a building material"). Hoeger put the building parallel to the longitudinal axis of the Hohenzollern square and placed the tall, slender tower as the dominant reference point at the intersection of the axes of the two streets. Along with the recessed parish forms, there is a lateral longitudinal vessel as a church yard for the faithful. The exterior is defined by the strict syntax of the surfaces. "Bauedelsteine" was Hoeger’s technique to form the shell of the steel skeleton: red-violet, sometimes gold bricks, which provide different light levels for the living wall texture. To soften the monumentality of the facade, Hoeger, who was known for the use of dark red bricks in his buildings, has used gold stones and joints as decorative additions.
The entrance front is through a large pointed portal, with a stone staircase and semicircular aisles which frame and make their way to the sharp cut of gold. Thirteen steep arches of reinforced concrete make up the interior of the church. The church interior contrasts with the cubic compact exterior: neo-Gothic arches and the interplay of light and shadow zones form the interior.
There is a story to the naming of the church; Hoeger wanted his building named in a poetic tribute to the National Socialist spirit of the time, called the German Cathedral Spring. The members of the parochial church council then chose the present name only as an interim solution. Eventually people forgot the story and it has remained as the Hohenzollernplatz Church.
Register to join to conversation.