Gethsemanekirche
The oldest protestant church in the district Prenzlauer Berg was built from 1891 to 1893. It became known beyond its district by the fact that it was an information centre and meeting-point for the citizens who were in opposition to the GDR as well as by its ecumenical services in June 2003.
The Gethsemane church is considered the best church design by the architect August Ort (1828-1901). The name Gethsemane refers to the garden on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where Jesus was arrested, where he suffered in fear of death and overcame it. During the dictatorship of the National socialists 1933-1945 the church was the centre of the National socialists "German Christians". There was a counter-movement in the parson's home Gethsemane Strasse 9 where illegal meetings of the Confessional Church were held. The parson Walter Wendland and his family helped Jews who suffered persecution. In the nineteen eighties the church was a centre for church-based work for peace, ecology and human rights. The bronze sculpture "Fighter in the Spirit" is a copy of the original by Ernst Barlach (1870-1938). It was placed there by the Land Berlin in honour and in memory of the origins of the democratic movement in the GDR. The low relief "Resistance" of the Berlin sculptor Karl Biedermann remembers the days in September and October 1989. During the first Ecumenical Church Day 2003 the church saw a catholic service with a Eucharist and a protestant service with joint communion attended by Catholics and Protestants.