St. Michael, Catholic church building in Wannsee, Germany
St. Michael is a Catholic church in Wannsee, Berlin, designed by Wilhelm Fahlbusch and built in 1926–1927. The red-brick tower has three green copper spires and three cross-shaped openings; the nave has a gabled roof and tall windows divided by brick crosses. Inside, four concrete pillars support the roof, and the walls above a brick base are plastered.
St. Michael was built in 1926–1927 to a design by Wilhelm Fahlbusch and consecrated on 12 June 1927. A Catholic church had been approved for the area by King Frederick William IV as early as 1844, but services were long held in the hall of the Conrad School. Wealthy Catholics bought the Königstraße plot in 1923; the estate owner Ammelt provided the land and Friedrich Minoux, director general of the Stinnes concern, gave a large sum toward the building.
The church owes its name to a decision by Friedrich Minoux, general director of the Stinnes group, who funded the building and had it dedicated to Archangel Michael, patron of the Germans, likely also recalling his father Michael Minoux. The three spires reflect the original plan for a Trinity church. Since 2013 the three steel bells of 1927, replaced by bronze ones, stand to the right of the main portal.
The church stands at Königstraße 43, oriented south toward the Rathaus so that its tower faces the street. The three steel bells cast in 1927 now rest on the right side in front of the main portal, where visitors can examine them. The brick facade has no windows; the entrance is the broad pointed-arch portal beneath the tower.
The original set of three steel bells from 1927 was gradually replaced with bronze versions, with the Maria bell changed in 1990 and the remaining bells in 2013. This gradual replacement shows how the church updated its facilities over the decades.
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