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Maria Regina Martyrum

Maria Regina Martyrum

View into the Catholic commemorative church Maria Regina Martyrum in Berlin.

The Maria Regina Martyrum church in Berlin-Charlottenburg is dedicated to the German Christians who stood up for freedom of faith and conscience with their lives during the National Socialist era.

Maria Regina Martyrum was built in 1960-63 as a commemorative church of German Catholics in honor of the martyrs for freedom of faith and conscience in the years 1933-1945, about 20 minutes' walk from the former Plötzensee prison.

The foundation stone was laid by Cardinal Döpfner, who in 1963, together with the then Bishop of Berlin, Alfred Bengsch, and the French Archbishop of Chambéry, de Bazelaire, inaugurated the memorial and parish church in northern Charlottenburg. It was built on behalf of the Episcopal Ordinariate of Berlin according to plans by the Würzburg cathedral architect Hans Schädel and the architect Friedrich Ebert. The site is considered an outstanding example of a successful unity of church building and architectural sculpture.

Convent next to Maria Regina Martyrum

A convent of Carmelite nuns, the first of its kind in Berlin, has existed right next to the commemorative church since 1984. It offers space for around 24 sisters and includes a public chapel for choir prayers. The establishment of this Carmelite convent was made possible by the reorganization of the parishes by the episcopal ordinariate; Maria Regina Martyrum was given the status of a local church and was placed under the administration of the neighbouring parish of St. Joseph-Siemensstadt. A new convent building with a terraced cell arrangement was built on the site according to plans by Theo Wieland and Klaus Worring. In addition to the community area, rooms for visitors and meditation groups as well as a monastery store were built.

Architecture of the Maria Regina Martyrum

The exterior appearance of the parish center with its concrete slats has been largely preserved. The front part of the lower church is dedicated purely to the memory of the martyrs. The tomb and the Pietà by Fritz Koenig, which dominates the room, have been moved to the center. To the side of the gold-coated rear wall are passages to the adjoining chapels, where the weekday service for sisters and visitors and the sisters' choir prayer take place.

The striking bell tower at the entrance to the cobblestone courtyard with its bronze Stations of the Cross and open-air altar by Otto Herbert Hajek is framed by walls clad in black and gray basalt pebbles and consists of two concrete pillars that hold the entrance gate and the two-story belfry with five bells between them. On the elongated façade of the upper church is Fritz Koenig's three-part sculpture Apocalyptic Woman. The church interior with its indirect lighting includes a monumental altarpiece by Georg Meistermann.

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 Address
Heckerdamm 232
13627 Berlin
Phone
+49 (0)30 36 41 170
Opening Hours
The church is open during the day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Architect
Friedrich Ebert

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Source: Berlin.de | All texts, photographs and graphics on this site are protected by copyright and may not be copied, reproduced, translated or used otherwise.

Last edited: 24 January 2025