Wonder how many stories these old fieldstones could tell you? This is the Dorfkirche Lankwitz. It is one of Berlin’s oldest village churches. Today we will uncover some of its secrets. The Dorfkirche Lankwitz is more than just a building. It is a testament to faith resilience and the enduring spirit of its community.
Lankwitz was first mentioned in 1239. The Margraves of Brandenburg gave the village to the Benedictine convent of St. Marien in Spandau. Soon after construction began on a typical village church made of fieldstone. This was likely before 1250. It probably replaced a wooden church.
Notice anything unusual about the choir? Its unusual length suggests the influence of the Spandau convent. The convent held patronage over the church until the Reformation. The extended choir likely accommodated the convent’s members. They needed additional space.
A significant transformation took place in 1757. However the Dorfkirche Lankwitz faced great adversity during the Second World War. In the Lankwitz Bomb Night of August 23-24 1943 air raids destroyed it down to its walls. The Dorfkirche Lankwitz was rebuilt with slight alterations between 1955 and 1956. On December 16 1956 it was solemnly rededicated.
The Dorfkirche Lankwitz is built with carefully hewn fieldstone blocks. These stones show the late Romanesque style. The transitions from the apse to the choir and the choir to the nave are staggered. This indicates that the apse choir and nave were built sequentially. The nave is unusually short almost square. This design is similar to the nearby Templar churches of Marienfelde Mariendorf and Tempelhof.
The current church entrance on the west gable reflects the late Romanesque period. It features a round arch typical of the 13th century. The layers of fieldstone show that it is original. You can still see the outline of the blocked southern gate the priest’s entrance on the south wall of the choir.
Originally the church’s windows were narrow and arched. In 1938 the interior was redesigned. The two round-arched windows of the apse were reopened. In 1757 the original windows were replaced with wide segmental arch windows.
Now look up at the tower. In 1757 a roof tower was built. It was a timber-framed structure with vertical boarding. The tower originally had a curved dome similar to the Dorfkirche Lichterfelde. This dome remained until the late 19th century. Then it was replaced with a stepped pyramidal roof. The tower was rebuilt in 1956. It was made one meter shorter and 25 cm narrower in depth and width. The wooden framework was replaced with reinforced concrete. In 1834 the tower was topped with a knob a weather vane and a star. During the 1956 reconstruction a fixed rooster replaced the star. Usually weathercocks rotate to show the wind direction.
Listen closely. The tower houses a bronze bell. It weighs 160 kg and has a diameter of 62 cm. It stands 51 cm tall plus a 13 cm crown. The bell’s pitch is E flat. The bell bears inscriptions in three rows. It says “Cast by C. Voss in Stettin 1870 No.436”. Opposite it in four rows “May they still in late days here stir many people’s ears only rarely with sad complaints and tune to the devotion choir.”
Inside nothing remains of the old furnishings. The baroque pulpit altar was removed in 1938. Now the altar features the epitaph of 1550. It commemorates the Berlin mayor Joachim Reich who died in 1540. It is a loan from the Marienkirche. A chalice from 1589 and a brass-hammered baptismal bowl from around 1500 have been preserved.
Between 1974 and 1977 the interior was restored. Plaster and unsuitable paint applied after the Second World War were removed. They were replaced with mineral-painted plaster slurry. The current pine wood ceiling replaced the 1956 soft fiberboard panels. The apse was also newly vaulted. The provisional acoustic panel ceiling from the 1950s was removed. The organ loft was redesigned for a new post-war organ. Karl Schuke built the organ in 1956 as Opus 40. It has six registers on one manual and pedal.
The Dorfkirche Lankwitz is more than just stones and mortar. It is a living record of centuries of faith community and change. Its walls have witnessed war and peace destruction and renewal. The Dorfkirche Lankwitz stands as a symbol of hope and continuity.