The history of the Berlin Cathedral goes back to the 15th century. The predecessor buildings were originally part of the Berlin City Palace.
In the early nineteenth century, Prussia’s leading architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel transformed the court church into a neo-classical building. But fifty years on, tastes had changed. By the time Wilhelm II came to throne as Emperor of Germany in 1888, several designs had been proposed for a new church, though none had been accepted. The Emperor also found the Schinkel church far too modest, and insisted on a new monumental church in keeping with the imperial monarchy’s power and prestige. Architect Julius Carl Raschdorff was commissioned for the new church, but had to present three designs before Wilhelm II was satisfied. Raschdorff’s opulent, grandiose structure was for him Berlin’s answer to Saint Peter’s in Rome and Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London.
The old building was demolished in 1893, and the foundation stone for the new church laid in 1894. Eleven years later in 1905, the new church was consecrated. The church was severely damaged during the Second World War. After the division of Germany, the Cathedral Church was in East Berlin. The work on restoring the church began there in 1975, although in a simplified form.
The full restoration was only completed in 1993, four years after the Berlin Wall fell. Finally, in 2008, a new golden cross replaced the dome cross in need of renovation. Today, the old cross is located on one of the cathedral cemeteries in Liesenstraße 6.
