Two churches vie for the title of Oldest Still Standing in Berlin, and St. Marienkirche is one of them. The church’s exact age isn’t known, but the earliest records of this church date to 1243.
You’ll find it near Alexanderplatz in the shadow of the enormous and extremely tall Berlin television tower in what used to be East Berlin. It was extensively damaged during World War II, but East German authorities restored it. I find that to be remarkable given communism’s rejection of religion.
It began as a Catholic church, but after the Protestant Reformation in 1539 it became a Lutheran church.
Inside, the space is bright and cheerful, despite its Gothic architecture. The tall, pointed windows are called Spitzbogen (pointed arch) in German.
Plenty of ornamentation is on display.
Large, ornate pipes of an organ appear in the balcony above the entrance.
The paintings behind the alter have darkened with age, and could use a cleaning.
I mentioned earlier how St. Marienkirche stands in the shadow of the television tower — this photo shows it.
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