Description: The St. Marienkirche (Church of St. Mary) is a church in Berlin, capital of Germany. The church is located in Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse (formerly Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse) in central Berlin, near the Alexanderplatz. Its exact age is not known, but it was first mentioned in German chronicles in 1292. It is presumed to date from earlier in the 13th century. It was originally a Roman Catholic church but since the Protestant Reformation it has been a Lutheran church.
Along with the Nikolaikirche, the Marienkirche is the oldest church in Berlin. The oldest parts of the church are made from granite, but most of it is built of brick, giving it its characteristic bright red appearance. This was deliberately copied in the construction of the nearby Berlin City Hall, the Rotes Rathaus. During World War II it was heavily damaged by Allied bombs. After the war the church was in East Berlin, and in the 1950s it was restored by the German Democratic Republic authorities. |