Whispers of centuries past echo around us here at Dorfkirche Blumberg. This early Gothic fieldstone church stands in the Blumberg district of Ahrensfelde. It is a testament to faith and architectural evolution.
Dorfkirche Blumberg is part of the Blumberg parish. The parish belongs to the Berlin North-East church district. It is also a member of the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia. This church welcomes all as one of the open churches.
Construction of Dorfkirche Blumberg began in the late 13th century. It started as a stately fieldstone hall church. It featured a long rectangular choir and a high west transverse tower. In the early 16th century, pillars and vaults were added. This transformed it into a two-aisled hall church. The sacristy, built south of the choir around the late 13th century, was extended in 1724. It then became a patron’s box with a crypt. A comprehensive restoration took place from 1878 to 1881. During this time, a sacristy was added in the northeast.
The tower rises above the ship walls. It is set off with light corner blocks. The Dehio handbook suggests it dates back to the 14th century. Another source links it to the bell cast in 1462. The tower’s completion with a gable roof between brick gables dates to 1937. The wide pointed arch south portal with profiled brick trim was added in the 15th century. The west portal, in similar style, dates to 1878-81. The windows, enlarged during the vaulting in the early 16th century, were expanded again in 1878-81. Only the middle east window remains from the 15th century. The arches of the original three-window group, now bricked up, are still visible.
Inside Dorfkirche Blumberg, the ship is divided into two aisles by three round pillars. These pillars support cross-ribbed vaults. The choir, set off by a pointed arch triumphal arch, has a two-bay cross-ribbed vault. The ribs with pear rod profiles in the ship end on consoles. These consoles feature male busts. Attributes identify them as apostles. They likely came from a Berlin workshop around 1520. In the choir, vault consoles take the form of animal heads and masks. Round choir keystones display reliefs of the sun and moon. The pointed arch opening to the tower is bricked up except for a door. The organ now obscures the former patron’s box. In 1957, remnants of a wall painting depicting Saint Mark were uncovered in the western choir vault. These paintings date back to the early 16th century.
The church bell was donated in 1462 by Bishop Dietrich von Stechow of Brandenburg. Five portrait paintings are noteworthy. One depicts Reimar von Winterfeldt from 1596, oil on wood. Another shows oil paintings of the von Löben couple from 1666. An oval oil painting portrays Baron von Canitz who died in 1699. In the choir, a life-size painting depicts Ehrengard Maria von Hagen. She was born von Schulenburg. It includes portrait medallions of her three deceased husbands. Emanuel Dubuisson created it in 1730 using oil on copper. The frame features 32 alabaster coats of arms.
A late Romanesque inscribed tombstone from 1296 was reused for Katarina von Krummensee. She was born Mörner and died in 1596. She was the wife of Hans von Krummensee. An epitaph for Philipp Ludwig von Canstein who died in 1708, resembles the style of Johann Georg Glume the Elder. It features trophy decorations, Fama, and a bust of the deceased on a sarcophagus. The upper parts were replaced with a plaster copy. Theodor Fontane mentioned this epitaph in his “Walks through the Mark Brandenburg”.
A sandstone epitaph commemorates Heinrich Julius von Goldbeck who died in 1818. It also honors his wife who died in 1816. Relief medallions of their heads, made of marble, were added in 1820 by Johann Gottfried Schadow. Outside the sacristy, two inscription tombstones from 1734 and 1744 can be found. To the south, an urn tomb in the Zopf style commemorates Carl Wilhelm Börger who died in 1793.
In 1879, Countess Anna von Arnim-Blumberg, superior of the Saint Elisabeth Hospital in Berlin, donated a sandstone pulpit. At the same time, donations from the Blumberg community funded the church interior. These included a memorial plaque for fallen soldiers and a red pulpit and altar cloth with gold embroidery.
The organ, built by Schuke Orgelbau in 1963, features 13 stops on two manuals and a pedal.
As we conclude our visit to Dorfkirche Blumberg, consider the layers of history within these walls. From its early Gothic origins to its Baroque and later additions, this church remains a focal point for the community. It stands as a testament to the enduring power of faith and artistic expression.