Alte Nazarethkirche, Church building in Wedding, Berlin, Germany.
Alte Nazarethkirche is a church building with Romanesque Revival architecture made of red brick featuring characteristic rounded arches and sturdy stone structures. The solid structure with its substantial walls creates a notable presence in the area around Leopoldplatz.
Architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed the building between 1832 and 1835 while serving as chief architect of Prussia's state building projects. The project emerged during Berlin's period of urban expansion following the Napoleonic Wars.
The name refers to Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus. Once the congregation outgrew the building and the Neue Nazarethkirche was built, services here ceased; the church then served mainly for diaconal and catechetical work. Since 1972–1974 a day-care centre has occupied the ground floor, while Schinkel's upper hall, the Schinkelsaal, was restored from 1977 to 1980 and is again used for services.
The building is located near Leopoldplatz in the Mitte district and is easy to reach on foot. The area has good connectivity, and visitors can explore the surrounding streets and neighborhoods.
The three round-arched portals of the entrance front are thought to have served as a model for the Neptune swimming hall in Rostock. Schinkel's plans for a bell tower and connecting arcade, later drawn up by Friedrich August Stüler, were never carried out here, so the exterior has survived almost unchanged.
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