Dorfkirche Zehlendorf, Parish church in Zehlendorf, Germany.
Dorfkirche Zehlendorf is an octagonal Baroque church built in 1768 on the site of a medieval fieldstone church first mentioned in 1264. Its exterior has smooth plaster surfaces between corner pilasters, and the tall segmental-arch windows and the ox-eye window above the door date from the 1953 restoration. The roof frame was damaged by dry rot as of 2017.
A stone church with a klutturm was documented at this site in 1264, and a four-part apse church of fieldstone blocks with a tower as wide as the nave is thought to have stood here from around 1250. In 1760, during the Seven Years' War, the village was plundered and the church was left in ruins. Frederick II had the ruin demolished in 1767 and a new church built under his patronage, contributing timber and 6,000 talers; it was completed in 1768.
The village church lost its regular services after the Pauluskirche opened in 1905 and served as a community house from 1912 until 1930. In 1732 Frederick William I greeted Salzburg exiles outside this church with the words "Mir neue Söhne – Euch ein mildes Vaterland". A local legend tells that the architect embezzled building funds and fled, leaving only enough money for a small church.
The octagonal church stands in the historic core of Zehlendorf at Zehlendorfer Eiche, on the western side of the old village street. The churchyard is to be made walkable again as part of the masonry repairs; until then, the roof truss is damaged by dry rot and some beams are missing, so the building is not open as a regular worship space. Services moved to the Paulus-Kirche in 1905.
The octagonal design is unusual for a village church in the Mark Brandenburg; the reason Frederick the Great chose it is unknown. A legend claims the architect embezzled funds and fled, leaving money only for a small building. In fact, an embezzlement did occur, but with about 300 seats the church was not smaller than conventional ones.
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