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What is the purpose of a church?

The suburban church of St. Paul

In the early 19th century, the population in Berlin-Wedding increased, but an urban infrastructure had not developed yet. This led to social hardships that could potentially destabilize power structures. In the 1830s, Frederick William III commissioned the construction of four so-called suburban churches. The aim was to create points of contact for the local population. Parish work and Protestant devoutness were supposed to limit emerging conflicts. Hence the first church in the Gesundbrunnen area was also a socio-political instrument. 

The church of St. Paul, whose appearance reminds us of an antique temple, was in line with the stylistic agenda of the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel that he developed for the four suburban churches on the Northern periphery of Berlin in close coordination with King Frederick William III. The church only had a tower from 1890.

The church of St. Paul‘s, lithograph by L. Bergold, based on a drawing by Ferdinand Bellermann 1836

Frontispiece of the book Die St. Paulsgemeinde vor Berlin by Christian Friedrich Bellermann, Berlin 1838 (Reproduction)

Photograph of the church of St. Paul after 1871

Albumin paper on cardboard, coloured, before 1889
Donation: Wilhelm Schuh 1955 (Reproduction)