Berliner Dom

Lovely ornate interior.

The outside of the cathedral does look like it would benefit from a good clean though – guessing that it is suffering from city pollution :(

The history of the “Berlin Cathedral” (official name: “Oberpfarr- und Domkirche zu Berlin”) began in 1465 on “Spree-Island”. Pope Paul II. appointed St.Erasmus-Chapel , which was located in the new-constructed Elector’s castle in “Cölln/Spree” to a collegiate church. Todays name is based on the former term for those collegiate churches, which were called “Domkirche” (cathedral).

1536 Elector Joachim II. moved the collegiate church (Domstift) into the former dominican-church south of the castle. The monks were resettled to Brandenburg/Havel.

1539 the Elector introduced the reformation with the support of Luther and the cathedral became a lutheric church.

The cathedral was proclaimed to highest parish-church in “Cölln/Spree” in 1608.

1613 Elector Johann Sigismund, his son and parts of the court converted to Calvinism. The cathedral (“Dom”) became reformed court and parish church.

1747-1750 “Friedrich der Große” commissioned Johann Boumann senior to construct a baroque new building north of the city castle . The old and delapidated cathedral was pulled down after the coffins were resettled from the crypt.

On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the reformation day, King Friedrich Wilhelm II. proclaimed the unification between lutheranian and reformated church in Prussia in 1817. The cathedral was renovated by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The reconstruction into a classicistic building was finished in 1822.