Katholische Gedenkkirche Maria Regina Martyrum (Maria Regina Martyrum Catholic Commemorative Church)

The north of the Berlin district of Charlottenburg houses a very special church: the Maria Regina Martyrum memorial church for German Catholics that was built here between 1960 and 1963. It is a place of that serves as a constant warning and reminder of the human crimes that were committed in the darkest phase in German history: the National Socialism. Located right next door since 1984 is the Carmel Regina Martyrum Monastery, where sisters live, work and pray.

Architecture that mirrors the violent past

Thanks to its firm, straight lines, this church stands out even from afar. If you are coming from Heckerdamm, you can reach the church through a courtyard called the “Feierhof”. It is designed as a place of silence and seclusion. The dark pavement and the black pebble walls are intended to be reminiscent of the roll call area in a former concentration camp. It is from here that you enter the church, whose facade is covered with white marble pebbles. The bright building floats with the message of life above the dark zone of death.

The celebration courtyard also has the Stations of the Cross designed by Otto Herbert Hajek: Take your time and look at the individual stations of Jesus' path on the Stations of the Cross on this courtyard wall that is almost four metre high. Discover for yourself the many small crosses that have been interwoven with the sufferings of the people here.
The gold-plated sculpture above the entrance to the church is also worth seeing: Here stands Fritz Koenig's “apocalyptic woman” shining in the sunlight, a topic from the Revelation of John.

Decline in shapes and colours

Inside, you can go up the steep staircase leading to the upper area of the church that has a large altar painting by Georg Meistermann: Here, shapes and colours have been used to vividly depict chaos and ruin and in the centre is the biblical lamb as a symbol of non-violence. 
Daylight streams into the church through the ribbon windows as comfortingly as “an Easter promise in the face of Plötzensee” (architect Hans Schädel).

You can also enter the crypt here, where you can see the extremely impressive Pietà by Fritz Koenig above the graves with an inscription that says: “To all martyrs who were denied the grave. And to all martyrs whose graves are not known.”

Read more about the Path of Remembrance, on which the Maria Regina Martyrum memorial church is located, at visitBerlin.de.