Inaugurated in 1905, the current cathedral stands on the same site as its predecessor which had been there since 1750. Designed by architect Julius Carl Raschdorff, it cost over 11 million Reichmarks to construct. The interior included design influences by Anton von Werner.
The crypt features members of the Hohenzollern family dating back as far as the 16th century.
We stumbled upon it by accident.
Deciding to be tourists for the day, we parked at a reasonably priced lot in Berlin and began walking about, taking in the sights and sounds. We spotted this cathedral from a distance and I was immediately struck by the architecture and wanted to go in for a closer look. As we got closer, we were happy to discover that we could go inside, and I immediately began taking pictures.
While possibly commonplace for Europeans, a North American such as myself had difficulty grasping the history represented in the crypt. Five hundred year-old coffins were hard for me to fathom.
Despite some damage from the war, partial demolision through the Communist period, and over a century of change around it, the Berliner Dom remains a fascinating, beautiful building that needs to be on your list of places to see if you're in Berlin.
