Besides the plethora of museums on Museum Island, the major drawing point here is undoubtedly the great Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom), one of the emblems of Berlin. As we cross the Palace Bridge (Schlossbrücke) with its impressive array of classical statues replete with Greek history and drama, we start seeing the major dome and some of its side domes peeking out above the crown of trees from the Lustgarten planted along the Spreekanal. In this set we see the cathedral from various angles in full as well as expanded in some detail. First a description of the building provided by our friends at Wikipedia:

BERLIN CATHEDRAL (BERLINER DOM) - The cathedral is a Protestant church and dynastic tomb on the Museum Island. Built from 1894-1905 by order of German Emperor William II in Renaissance and Baroque Revival styles, this building is the largest Protestant church in Germany and one of the most important dynastic tombs in Europe. Several predecessor buildings existed at or near this site, the new building is much larger than any of the previous buildings and was considered a Protestant counterweight to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The present building was inaugurated in 1905.

In the 1940's, the blast waves of Allied bombing blew out part of the windows, a bomb of combustible liquids entered the roof lantern of the dome. The fire could not be extinguished at that unreachable section of the dome. Thus the lantern burnt out and collapsed into the main floor. Between 1949 and 1953, a temporary roof was built to enclose the building. In 1967 the then still undivided Evangelical Church of the Union set up a committee for the reconstruction of the Cathedral, then located in East Berlin. The government of the Eastern German Democratic Republic did not oppose the work of the committee due to the concomitant inflow of Deutsche Marks. Reconstruction started in 1975, simplifying the building's original design and demolishing the northern wing, the 'Denkmalskirche' (Memorial Church). Compared by some to the Medici Chapel, it had survived the war completely intact but was demolished for ideological reasons by the communist government due to it being a hall of honor for the Hohenzollern dynasty. The government also demanded the removal of as many crosses as possible. The demolition and redesign cost 800,000 marks, while the restoration (done on the cheap) cost just 50,000 marks. The Berlin Cathedral Building Society now seek to rebuild the Denkmalskirche. In 1980, the baptistery and wedding church was reopened for services. The restoration of the nave was begun in 1984. In 1993, the nave was reinaugurated in an event attended by Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl and televised nationwide in Germany. In addition to church services, the cathedral is used for state ceremonies, concerts and other events.


Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction, maps and information for the entire series. Find it at:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-693834-1.html

DETAILS ON BERLIN: Set 37 provides an intro, see: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-698199-1.html

EARLIER POSTS of this series: Access my topic list, the new posts are listed in reverse chronological order:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=45105

Thank you for visiting, I recommend viewing the downloads and look forward to your comments and questions.

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