Berliner Dom, One of Berlin's Most Beautiful Churches
The Berliner Dom is one of the buildings that stands out most in central Berlin. It sits on Museuminsel, right next to the Spree river, and immediately catches the eye mostly because of its size and its huge green dome. We had the chance to visit during a trip we took at the end of May to explore the German capital, and besides going inside the cathedral, we also climbed up to the dome for a wonderfully privileged view over central Berlin.
Built in the early 20th century, the Berliner Dom has a history that goes back much further than the building we see today. The site had already been home to other churches, and over the years it was altered several times before the current cathedral was built. The Berliner Dom was inaugurated in 1905, but its history also ended up marked by the Second World War, when it suffered quite significant damage. The reconstruction took several decades, and it only reopened to the public much later. In this article, I’ll walk you through a bit of this building’s history and explain how visiting works, including opening hours, prices and what you can expect to find.
Several centuries of history
The history of the Berliner Dom goes back to 1465, when the old Chapel of St Erasmus, part of the royal palace of Cölln, was given the status of a collegiate church. In other words, a church run by a group of clergy members with special religious standing in the region. Over the centuries, the site was altered repeatedly and even changed location within what is now the Museuminsel, also known as Museum Island, right in the centre of Berlin. In 1536, the church adopted Lutheranism, one of the main branches of Protestantism, created from the ideas of Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation. This shift had a huge impact on religious life in the region, which moved away from Catholic tradition and became tied to the Protestant movement spreading across Europe at the time. From then on, the church grew steadily in importance and became increasingly linked to the Hohenzollern family, rulers of Brandenburg who would later become one of the most important families in the history of Prussia and Germany.
In the 19th century, Berlin was growing fast and the old cathedral was starting to feel too small for the city. This became even clearer after the founding of the German Empire in 1871, when Berlin became the new empire’s capital and gained an even bigger political role. The old Berliner Dom was no longer seen as grand enough to represent the city and the monarchy, and the idea of building a new cathedral on the same site began to gain momentum. The project was handed to architect Julius Carl Raschdorff, who designed a much larger and more imposing building, with a big dome and several towers. Construction began in 1894 and lasted more than ten years, up to the inauguration of today’s Berliner Dom in 1905.
The Berliner Dom remained part of Berlin’s skyline for several decades, until the Second World War completely changed the city and the world. Between 1939 and 1945, Berlin was heavily bombed and many buildings in the centre were destroyed or badly damaged. The Berliner Dom was hit several times too. By 1940, bombing had already destroyed the stained-glass windows and damaged the facades, but the worst came in 1944. An incendiary bomb struck the dome, sparking a fire that destroyed part of the building’s structure and also damaged the Hohenzollern crypt, where several members of the family were buried. When the war ended in 1945, the Berliner Dom was badly damaged, just like much of the city. With buildings and infrastructure destroyed all over Berlin, rebuilding everything couldn’t happen overnight. So the Berliner Dom had to wait a few years before reconstruction work could even begin.
Reconstruction work began in 1975, at a time when Berlin was still divided between West and East. The Berliner Dom was in East Berlin, and since 1961 the city had been split by the Berlin Wall, which divided families, neighbourhoods and the whole life of the city. Even with this divide, work on the cathedral kept moving forward, and some parts ended up being rebuilt differently from how they looked before the war. In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, and the following year Germany became one country again. The Berliner Dom then continued to be restored and reopened to the public in 1993, though some restoration work carried on in the following years. When we visited the cathedral, in May, restoration work was underway on one side of the dome, so we had to accept that scaffolding was also going to be part of our photos.
Our visit
We visited the Berliner Dom in the morning and managed to arrive right at opening time, so it was nice and quiet with very few people around. Since we’d already bought our tickets online, it was really quick. We showed our ticket and headed to the entrance, where we were told straight away to leave our backpacks in the lockers, since they weren’t allowed inside. And honestly, our backs were grateful for that rule. After leaving our bags, we went into the cathedral and were immediately impressed. It’s beautiful inside, and the dome, seen from below, is just as striking! We wandered around the interior at a relaxed pace, went up to the upper floor to see the nave from a different angle, and ended up passing through a small museum area explaining some details about the cathedral’s construction and the techniques used at the time.
We then headed to the cathedral’s crypt, which was probably the part that surprised us most during the visit. We knew the crypt was part of the route, but we weren’t expecting such a large space with so many coffins and sarcophagi, in different styles and sizes. Some are quite plain, but others are really ornate and immediately catch your eye.
One of the parts we most wanted to see was the dome, so we carried on to the stairs leading up to it. The climb is split into two sections and, even though there are quite a few steps, I don’t remember finding it particularly hard, so it can’t be that complicated! We first went up a wider staircase and, after walking through a short corridor, reached a taller, narrower staircase leading to the outer walkway of the dome. For us, it was a pretty easy climb, helped by the fact that we didn’t cross paths with anyone along the way. On top of that, you come down via a different route, so there’s no risk of constantly bumping into people going the opposite direction.
Up there, you can walk all the way around the dome, and it was fun to see Berlin from so many sides and angles. We could spot Alexanderplatz, the Spree river and several places we’d already been, plus the whole surrounding area. It really helps you understand how the city centre is laid out! We also got lucky with the weather, sunny with an almost clear sky and just a few clouds, so the view was great. We stayed up there for about 10 to 15 minutes enjoying the view and taking some photos before starting the way down.
We came down via a different staircase from the one we’d used to go up, and ended up back at the lockers where we’d left our backpack. The exit goes through the gift shop, where we had a quick look around but didn’t end up buying anything.
- Opening hours: 9.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Saturday, 12.00pm to 6.00pm on Sundays
- Price: €15.00 per person
- Duration of the visit: 1 to 1.5 hours
- Difficulty of the climb: easy to moderate (270 steps in total)
All in all, I think the visit to the Berliner Dom was really worth it and made for a pretty complete experience, from exploring the cathedral’s interior and the crypt to climbing the dome and taking in the view over Berlin. For anyone visiting Berlin for the first time, I’d put the Berliner Dom right after the Berlin Wall on the list of must-see spots. It’s a visit that combines history, architecture and a beautiful view over the city, so I really think it deserves a prominent spot on your itinerary. 🩷
Follow along here with all our posts from our trip to Berlin to discover the places we visited in the city.
