Berlin's Archbishop Heiner Koch ceremoniously reopened St. Hedwig's Cathedral after a renovation lasting around six years, which he hopes will attract more visitors. At the reopening at 10:00 AM, a pontifical mass was held with Archbishop Heiner Koch and his predecessor, the current Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki. Guests included Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner and Federal Ministers Klara Geywitz and Lisa Paus.
During the mass, Archbishop Koch said the church should be open "for the people who come to us, who believe, who do not believe in God, for those of other religions, for those who seek and ask, and for those who just want to rest," according to Deutsche Welle. He also expressed his hope for the cathedral's future role in the city. "With this, the Archdiocese of Berlin has rediscovered its architectural center," Archbishop Koch stated, according to Die Zeit.
The renovation of the more than 250-year-old church at Bebelplatz near the Boulevard Unter den Linden caused significant discussions and controversies among parish members and beyond. Many works at St. Hedwig's Cathedral, especially in electrical and electronic systems, were overdue, according to the diocese, and the effort that went into renovation was equivalent to rebuilding in some parts.
A central floor opening with a staircase to the lower church, which had been a prominent feature of the cathedral since its reconstruction after World War II, was particularly controversial; some considered it an architectural highlight, while others saw it as a disturbing hole. After legal disputes, the plan to close the opening and move the altar to the center of the church was implemented starting in 2020.
In 2023, the new altar was consecrated. The altar is a mold in the shape of a half shell made of cement and sand, containing more than a thousand stones of various sizes, collected by people from all over the archdiocese. Archbishop Heiner Koch thanked architect Peter Sichau and artist Leo Zogmayer, according to whose designs the cathedral was renovated.
Architect Peter Sichau, whose designs guided the renovation, says that the remodeled Cathedral of St. Hedwig is a "space of celebration," where it is possible "to help people experience God."
The chairs for the congregation are arranged in a circular formation around the altar, and there are no colorful pictures, large cross, or steps leading to the altar or between the believers and the priest. In the center, directly beneath the dome and beneath the altar, there is a baptismal font in the shape of a cross with running water, unusually large for Catholic churches, being big enough to immerse an adult person during baptism. There are twelve thematic rooms arranged around the baptismal font, which are modernly designed chapels for meditation and prayer, as well as rooms for confession. Notably, there is a "Room of Conversion" that addresses the perpetration of sexual violence by clergy in the Church.
The redesign of St. Hedwig's Cathedral emphasizes the architectural reference to the Roman Pantheon, which was the model for the church's construction. The circular building of the Pantheon, dating from the 2nd century A.D., did not become a Christian church until 500 years later. Sichau says that the first churches were mostly circular buildings, in which the focus was the celebration itself.
St. Hedwig's Cathedral, inaugurated in 1773, was the first Catholic church in Berlin and in the state of Prussia since the Reformation. King Frederick II made its construction possible in Protestant-dominated Prussia, allowing it to be built in the heart of the magnificent city center.
The Archdiocese of Berlin states that the construction costs for the renovation of St. Hedwig's Cathedral now amount to approximately 44.2 million euros, financed by regional and central governments, as well as other dioceses. Despite construction delays, particularly due to COVID-19, the originally set cost framework of 40 million euros was largely adhered to.
The Bernhard Lichtenberg House, part of the Catholic Forum at Bebelplatz alongside the cathedral, is currently being renovated and supplemented by a new building. Lichtenberg prayed publicly for the persecuted Jews during the Nazi era and died after prolonged imprisonment on the way to the Dachau concentration camp.
St. Hedwig's Cathedral is the only Catholic church in the center of East Berlin. Approximately 360,000 Catholic Christians live in the Archdiocese of Berlin, including about 275,000 in Berlin, where Catholics make up about seven percent of the total population. In Berlin, people without any religious affiliation constitute the largest ideological group in the city.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq