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St.-Michaels-Kirche
(St. Michael‘s Church) |
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August Soller, a pupil of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, built the Italianate St-Michaels-Kirche between 1851 and 1861. It was the second Catholic church in the city and was hailed by the poet Theodor Fontane as the loveliest church in Berlin.
Instead of a tower it is crowned by a graceful cupola and a figure of the Archangel Michael, from whom the Engelbecken, (angel fountain) in front of the church, takes its name. Despite the damage to the central part of the red-brick building sustained during the Second World War, a makeshift community centre was built in the ruins of the open, roofless nave in the eighties. The remarkably rich and expansive city space – the church, water feature, gardens and old, new and pre-fabricated buildings – suffered greatly in its former location within the no-man’s land of the border strip, and still bears visible wounds.
Yet the outstanding impact of the church on town planning policy is becoming increasingly evident. It lies right on the main axis of the old Luisenstädtische Canal, on the border between Kreuzberg and Mitte districts. From here, one could see all the way to the church at Südstern, a view that can still be enjoyed on a clear winter’s day, past bare trees.
The Förderverein St. Michael e.V. (St. Michael Trust) was founded in 2001 and is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the church as well as for the organisation of church events, such as the Summer Music Programme. |
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Address: Michaelkirchplatz 15, 10179 Berlin, +49 (0)30 2793259,
www.foerderverein-stmichael-kirche.de
Bus, Tube, Tram: U1, U8 Kottbusser Tor; Bus M29 Oranienplz, Bus 147 Michaelkirchstr.
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