Old Church
Kaiser Wilhelm II decided to name the church in honor of his grandfather Kaiser Wilhelm I. The foundation stone was laid on March 22, 1891, which was Wilhelm I's birthday. The competition for the design was won by Franz Schwechten who planned for a large church to be built in Romanesque Revival style, including 2,740 square meters (~8989' 6") of wall mosaic. The spire was 113 meters (370' and 8.81") high and the nave seated over 2,000 people. The church was consecrated on September 1, 1895. By this time of the consecration the entrance hall in the lower section had not been completed. This was opened and consecrated on February 22, 1906. In the Second World War, on the night of November 23, 1943, the church was irreparably damaged in an air raid. The church was largely destroyed but part of the spire and much of the entrance hall survived.
Read more about this topic: Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
Famous quotes containing the word church:
“The church is a sort of hospital for men’s souls, and as full of quackery as the hospital for their bodies. Those who are taken into it live like pensioners in their Retreat or Sailor’s Snug Harbor, where you may see a row of religious cripples sitting outside in sunny weather.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Now folks, I hereby declare the first church of Tombstone, which ain’t got no name yet or no preacher either, officially dedicated. Now I don’t pretend to be no preacher, but I’ve read the Good Book from cover to cover and back again, and I nary found one word agin dancin’. So we’ll commence by havin’ a dad blasted good dance.”
—Samuel G. Engel (1904–1984)