From anywhere in the city, you can see Berlin Cathedral’s beautiful tower, which is an important part of the city’s skyline. Allow at least two hours to fully enjoy one of Germany’s most important churches.

A Walk Through Time

Since the Middle Ages, the neo-Renaissance Berlin Cathedral has been through several stages of church reform and building repairs. It all began with a simple parish church that was built next to the Spree in 1465. In 1539, the church was changed to follow the Lutheran line of Martin Luther. Then, between 1747 and 1750, when Frederick the Great ordered a new Baroque building to be built, the bodies were carefully moved from the crypt, and the old, broken-down building was torn down.

Karl Friedrich Schinkel, an architect, planned and built the remodeled neoclassical church between 1820 and 1822. Under the orders of Kaiser Wilhelm II, more changes were made to the church before it was finished in 1905. After being destroyed by the Allies during World War II, work to rebuild it began in 1975, and the church that stands today is the result.

We saw the Berlin Cathedral Today

This impressive building is on Museum Island in the Mitte area of Berlin. The church is still open and running, and people can sit in the pews while services are going on. Pay attention to the finely carved raised pulpit, the baptismal and wedding chapels, the imperial stairs, the gold altar, and the organ with its more than 7,000 pipes. Nearly 100 coffins from the early 1600s can be found in the Hohenzollern crypt below the church. There is a small fee to enter both the church and its museum.

The dome on top of the church is well worth the climb. There is a walkway outside that gives you a great view of Museum Island, the synagogue, Gendarmenmarkt, and the Reichstag. Photographers will love this spot because it gives them a different view. Pay attention, though, because the last part of the climb is very small. Some people even call it the cat-walk.

Are you getting ready to visit Berlin? Check out our list of the best Berlin hotels in the city center.