Heiligengeistkirche, Gothic Revival church in Hamburg-Barmbek-Süd, Germany.
The Heiligengeistkirche was a red-brick Gothic Revival church with a tall tower on its left side, rising in a squared brick shaft above the trees. The tower had two tall arched windows with white tracery, a clock face above each window, and a steep pyramidal roof covered in pale green copper, topped by a small spire. To the right of the tower, the nave extended with a steep roof and pointed windows, and a flat-roofed, single-storey annexe sat in front of the lower wall.
Construction took place between 1902 and 1903 under architect Hugo Groothoff's design. Following severe damage during World War II, the building underwent major restoration work in 1955.
The church stood on the old village square at the centre of original Barmbek, where the Oberalten had kept their manor house and from there administered the land of the former Heiligengeist hospital. The name Heiligengeistkirche refers to the Holy Spirit. In the mid-1960s the artist Anna Andersch-Marcus was commissioned to make 50 leaded-glass windows for the interior.
The church was closed in 2004 and deconsecrated at the end of May 2005, so there is no interior to visit. Since spring 2008 only a remnant of the eastern church wing survives, built into the Barmbeker Turmhaus apartment block. The site is on the old village square in central Barmbek, reachable by foot from the surrounding streets.
The demolition in spring 2008 left only part of the eastern church wing standing, and this remnant was built into the Barmbeker Turmhaus, a complex of 49 freehold flats of 2 to 5 rooms with an underground car park. Residents had collected signatures and protested at meetings against the scheme. Shortly after the facade was finished, unknown persons sprayed silver symbols at the highest point of the tower house; they were removed before the scaffolding came down.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,536 contributors worldwide.