Berlin Cathedral
Berlin Cathedral (German: Berliner Dom) is the short name for the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church (German: Oberpfarr- und Domkirche zu Berlin) in Berlin, Germany. It is located on Museum Island in the Mitte borough. The current building was finished in 1905 and is a main work of Historicist architecture of the "Kaiserzeit".
In 1940 the blast waves of Allied bombing blew part of the windows away. On 24 May 1944, a bomb of combustible liquids entered the roof lantern of the dome. The fire could not be extinguished at that unreachable section of the dome. So the lantern burnt out and collapsed into the main floor. Between 1949 and 1953 a temporary roof was built to enclose the building. On 9 May 1967 the then still undivided Evangelical Church of the Union decided a committee for the reconstruction of the Supreme Parish and Cathedral Church, then located in East Berlin. The government of the Eastern German Democratic Republic did not oppose the work of the committee due to the concomitant inflow of Deutsche Marks.
In 1975 reconstruction started, simplifying the building's original design and demolishing the northern wing, the 'Denkmalskirche' – Memorial Church. In 1980 the baptistery and wedding church was reopened for services. The restoration of the nave was begun in 1984. On 6 June 1993 the nave was reinaugurated in an event attended by Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl and televised nationwide in Germany.
In 1940 the blast waves of Allied bombing blew part of the windows away. On 24 May 1944, a bomb of combustible liquids entered the roof lantern of the dome. The fire could not be extinguished at that unreachable section of the dome. So the lantern burnt out and collapsed into the main floor. Between 1949 and 1953 a temporary roof was built to enclose the building. On 9 May 1967 the then still undivided Evangelical Church of the Union decided a committee for the reconstruction of the Supreme Parish and Cathedral Church, then located in East Berlin. The government of the Eastern German Democratic Republic did not oppose the work of the committee due to the concomitant inflow of Deutsche Marks.
In 1975 reconstruction started, simplifying the building's original design and demolishing the northern wing, the 'Denkmalskirche' – Memorial Church. In 1980 the baptistery and wedding church was reopened for services. The restoration of the nave was begun in 1984. On 6 June 1993 the nave was reinaugurated in an event attended by Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl and televised nationwide in Germany.
