Sophienkirche (Berlin)

The Sophie Church is an evangelical church in the Spandau suburb of Berlin hamlet center. The church belongs to the Evangelical church in the vineyard (until 31 December 2013: Evangelical Church of St. Sophia ) in the parish of Berlin city center. The church is surrounded by a no longer used for a long time churchyard, which is immediately adjacent to the northwest at the Hackescher Markt.

History and Description

The church of St. Sophia was built as a hall building on the concept and plans of the architect Philip Gerlach. The foundation stone was still in the reign of King Frederick I of Prussia. After her husband's death on 25 February 1713 as originally intended namesake Sophie Luise of Mecklenburg -Schwerin ( 1685-1735 ), Frederick's third wife, at the consecration of the church the following King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia was highly undesirable; the church was therefore first consecrated on 18 June 1713 Spandauische church. Only under the successor King Frederick II was named after Sophie Luise and since then is called Sophia. The Baroque bell tower was added in the years 1732-1734 through the tower builder Johann Friedrich Grael.

1891/1892 the church was rebuilt to designs by the Commissioner of City Planning Friedrich Schulze (as officials ) and the successful architects Kyllmann & Heyden. Executive architect was Kurt Berndt. The ceiling was increased - thus a renewal of the roof was accompanied - and lowered the floor and inserted at the eastern narrow side of the rectangular plan an altar niche. Wall structure and decor - also located on an aureole oversized Rocaille on the ceiling - go almost entirely due to this conversion.

A beautiful example of early classical writing board - - In the outer wall of the church, the memorial plaque to the poet Karl Wilhelm PeterRamler is on the vestry and on the north wall that for the poet Anna Luise Karsch inserted.

Besides a number of graves from the last days of World War II on the adjacent street Sophie found the most prominent grave of the Carl Friedrich Zelter, the founder of the Sing- Akademie zu Berlin.