Historie der Berlin Location für Veranstaltungen, Tagungen, Kongresse und Events

History of the Auferstehungskirche - the becoming of the enviromental event venue

The Auferstehungskirche has had a very eventful history between being a large church with a capacity of 1350 for the workers in Berlin Friedrichshain, to becoming the environmentally friendly event location of the Umweltforum Auferstehungskirche.

The Auferstehungskirche was built between 1892-95 on a former paupers cemetery. Hence the name Auferstehungskirche, meaning church of resurrection. Architecturally speaking it is a late Romanesque red brick church with Gothic elements. The construction was unusual for its use of cast-iron columns supporting the vaults and galleries. Because of this, the nave bay gives an impression of spaciousness and transparency.

The church was badly damaged in WWII after which it was only scantily rebuilt. The whole chancel, sacristy as well as the adjoining bay were removed owing to damage from the war. The length of the church nave was thereby reduced by almost a half. The church was again consecrated in 1961 and was listed as an historic building towards the end of the 70s.

In the 1980’s the Auferstehungskirche was a meeting point for the East German opposition. This is where the musician Günter Holly Holwas and Church minister Rainer Eppelmann initiated the „Blues Mass“ (theme: „Life is fun“). Also in the church at this time the group „Woman for Peace“ with Bärbel Bohley held their community meeting with around 500 participants in the Auferstehungskirche.

Up until the fall of the wall in 1989, the damage to the building got worse. So much so that the church nave was only usable in Summer – the heating didn’t work at all, the walls were damp and the window panes broken.

In 1993 the church tower was renovated with the financial support of the Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umweltschutz (Senat Office for Urban Development and Envirnomental Protection). In 1995, together with the parish (Kirchengemeinde) and the deanery (Kirchenkreis Berlin Stadtmitte) a viable, long-term concept for the redevelopment of the listed historical building was developed: the creation of an event venue with environmental orientation in combination with the lease of office spaces.

In 1999, with a grant of 5.4 million Deutschmarks (approx. 2.7 million Euro) from the Umweltförderprogramm (Fund for Environmental Development) of the Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung (Senat Offices for Urban Development), the financing of the project was assured. In January 2000 the chancel was demolished and the official start of construction began with the ground breaking ceremony on the 31st of March 2000. Following the architectural plans of This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Bergisch Gladbach) the galleries were built back into the church nave and an illuminated wall was constructed. The roof was completely rebuilt and a glass and steel extension was erected, recreating the outer proportions of the original building.

After two years of construction building was complete. The nave was consecrated for the third time in its history. Office leasing parties moved into the approximately 1.000m² of the upper floors and the event and convention centre began business on a floor area of the same size on the ground and first floors.