St. Joseph
Facade to Müllerstraße
LocationBerlin-Wedding, Germany
DenominationCatholic
History
StatusParish church
DedicationSaint Joseph
Consecrated1909 (1909)
Architecture
Architect(s)
  • Wilhelm Rincklake
  • Wilhelm Frydag
StyleRomanesque revival
Administration
DioceseBerlin

St. Joseph is a Catholic church and former parish in Berlin-Wedding, Germany, built from 1907 to 1909 to a design by Wilhelm Rincklake, revised by Wilhelm Frydag in Romanesque revival style. It seats 3000 people. Since 2018 the church has served as an interim cathedral while the St.-Hedwigs-Kathedrale is restored.

History

A new parish and church were needed in Wedding after the German Empire was established, and many Catholics moved into the city of Berlin. An architecture competition resulted and was won by a design by a friar from Maria Laach, Pater Ludgerus or Wilhelm Rincklake. The Berlin architect Wilhelm Frydag revised the plans, and Hermann Bunning supervised the construction which began in 1907.[1] It lines Müllerstraße between houses, marked by two towers.[2] The church was consecrated on 2 May 1909, dedicated to Saint Joseph, the patron saint of workers.[1] Its parish became independent in 1913.

Interior

Damage in World War II was mostly repaired in 1948 and 1949. The paintings on the ceiling and walls were not restored because taste had changed. The high pyramid roofs of the towers were replaced by rather flat roofs. Some features of the interior were retained, but not all restored to their original state.

In 1995 the crypt, which was destroyed in the 1945 bombing, was made a memorial site for the victims of the war and the priest Max Josef Metzger who had been executed in 1944; the park opposite the church is named after him.[1] The original high altar, which was also destroyed, was replaced by a new design of the altar area in 1990. At the beginning of the 21st century the original painting of the interior was restored,[1] retaining a Gesamtkunstwerk of the Beuroner Kunstschule.

From 2018 the church served as the interim cathedral for Berlin during the restoration of the St.-Hedwigs-Kathedrale.[3] The parish became part of a larger parish St. Elisabeth, together with St. Aloysius, St. Laurentius, St. Paulus, St. Petrus and St. Sebastian in November 2019.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "St. Joseph-Kirche". Landesdenkmalamt Berlin (in German). 2 March 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Franik, André (1999). "Die St.-Joseph-Kirche in der Müllerstraße". Berlinische Monatsschrift (in German). No. 11. Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein. ISSN 0944-5560. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Förner, Stefan (2 March 2018). "St. Joseph Wedding wird Ersatzort für die Kathedrale". erzbistumberlin.de (in German). Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "Die Pfarrei" (in German). sankt-elisabeth-berlin.de. Retrieved 11 July 2020.

Further reading

  • Architekten- und Ingenieur-Verein zu Berlin: Berlin und seine Bauten. Teil VI. Sakralbauten. Berlin 1997.
  • Gerhard Streicher und Erika Drave: Berlin – Stadt und Kirche. Berlin 1980.
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