Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche

Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche stands in Berlin’s Mitte district as a church of the Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church. Known locally as the Annenkirche, it was Berlin’s first Evangelical-Lutheran, or Old Lutheran, church. Stone construction and nineteenth-century design give the building a strong architectural presence, while its status as a protected monument marks its historical importance.

The congregation emerged after Friedrich Wilhelm III ordered Lutheran and Reformed churches to unite in Prussia. Between 40 and 50 worshippers met in private homes during the early 1830s, despite repeated prohibitions. By 1846, more than 900 members needed a permanent place after worshipping in borrowed churches. Hermann Blankenstein, a student of Schinkel, designed the church for a plot on Annenstraße. Construction began with the foundation stone in November 1855 and ended with consecration in October 1857.

Donations and a lottery funded the stone building instead of a proposed temporary iron structure. During World War II, fire destroyed the altar area and damaged the roof and windows. Major repairs preserved the church, whose walls connect a persecuted congregation with Berlin’s nineteenth-century architecture.