Built between 1894 and 1905, the sheer size of Berlin Cathedral on Museum Island makes it hard to miss. It serves as the perfect backdrop to the Lustgarten out in front of it. With its style inspired by the Baroque period (or the Italian High Renaissance), the cathedral is one of the most significant Protestant sacred buildings in Germany. It consists of the central Sermon Church and the Baptismal and Matrimonial Church. The tombs of numerous members of the House of Hohenzollern can be found in its crypt. The cathedral’s dome, in particular, is a masterpiece: in 2007, it was nominated for the ‘Historical Monument of Engineering in Germany’ award. Today, the cathedral is used for regular parish services and for state occasions or other major political events.
Like many other buildings in Berlin’s Mitte district, the cathedral suffered considerable damage in World War Two: the Sermon Church and crypt were particularly hard-hit and were almost totally destroyed by a fire. Work to rebuild the structure only started 30 years later. While the work on its exterior was completed in 1983, it took until 2002 before the interior was finished and could be unveiled to the public.
