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Capital of theGerman Empire and of theKingdom of Prussia, and residence of the German Emperor andPrussian, King. It is situated in the heart of the Mark of Brandenburg, on both sides of the Spree above its entrance into the Havel. The city covers an area of 24-1/2 sq. miles and had, 1 December, 1905, 2,040,148 inhabitants, not including the population of the suburbs which are virtually parts of the city. Of the inhabitants of Berlin 223,948 areCatholics; 1,695,251 areProtestants; 98,893Jews, and 22,056 belong to otherdenominations.
The present city of Berlin has grown out of two settlements of the Wends: Kolln, lying on an island in the Spree, and Berlin, opposite, on the right bank of the Spree. Kolln is mentioned for the first time in an official documentdated 1237; Berlin, in 1244. Even at thisdate both places possessed therights ofBrandenburgian cities, but were not equal in importance to other cities of the Mark. A number of old churches, which are still among the most important ones of the city, testify to the activereligious life prevalent at this earlydate, as: thechurch of St. Mary, erected at the end of the thirteenth century; thechurch of St. Nicholas; the church of the Grey Monastery (Kirche des grauen Klosters), a Gothic edifice built at the end of the thirteenth century. Altogether there were about eighteen church-buildings in Berlin before theReformation. It was not until the two towns were united into one community, in 1307, that the place grew to be of some importance. In the tumultuous times which prevailed in the Mark of Brandenburg during the fourteenth century, Berlin and Frankfort-on-the-Oder became the leaders of the confederation of the cities against the nobles, and joined the Hanseatic League. When the Emperor Charles IV obtained the Mark from the house of Wittelsbach, Berlin rose against him, but was defeated and compelled to open its gates to the emperor. Berlin paid an unwilling obedience to Frederick I of Hohenzollern who made his entry into the city in 1415. When the ElectorFrederick II again separated the two cities and erected a fortified castle between Berlin and Kolln, on the site of the present royal residence, the inhabitants, under the leadership of Bernd Ryke, revolted, stormed the house in which the elector was accustomed to live when in Berlin, and destroyed the public records. Frederick conquered the rebels and took from the city itsjurisdiction and other privileges. In 1451 the castle was completed; Elector John Cicero chose it for his usual residence, which greatly increased the importance of Berlin. TheReformation found ready acceptance in Berlin, and after the death of Joachim I (seeBRANDENBURG) it triumphed over the old Faith. The nobility living in the neighbourhood of Berlin accepted the newdoctrine at Teltow, April, 1539, and the Elector Joachim II, in the same year, followed their example. On the 2d of November the first celebration of the Lord's Supper according to theLutheran Rite took place at Berlin in theDominican church, which was later transformed into aProtestantcathedral. In 1540 the new church ritual for the Mark was settled and printed at Berlin. TheReformation in a short time gained a complete ascendancy, themonasteries were suppressed, and theFranciscan Father Petrus (d. 1571) was the lastCatholicpriest in Berlin until the coming of theDominicans about one hundred and fifty years later.
The city suffered greatly during theThirty Years War, its population sinking to 4,000 in consequence of a plague. It slowly recovered from the injuries inflicted by thiswar during the reign of Frederick William, the Great Elector, grew in size, and was surrounded by new fortifications. Immigrants from the Low Countries andFrenchHuguenots, who brought many branches of industry with them, raised the number of inhabitants to 20,000. Frederick I made Berlin the royal residence and adorned it with many fine buildings, the most famous architect andsculptor of the time being Schluter. In 1709 Frederick introduced a common government for the five divisions of the city which had gradually grown up. In 1696 he founded the Academy of Fine Arts, and in 1700 the Academy of Sciences, of which Leibnitz was the first president. Berlin suffered greatly during the Seven Years War, in the course of which it was seized and plundered in 1575 by the Austrians, and in 1760 by the Russians; but under the wise rule of Frederick the great (Frederick II) it rapidly recovered from the damage done to it and became an important centre of commerce, industry, andintellectual life. The number of inhabitants increased to 115,000. Frederick William II also spent large sums of money in beautifying the royal city. Under Frederick William II there was a temporary check to its development during the era of theNapoleonic ascendancy. In 1808 the city acquired the right of self-government to a limited degree, and in 1809 theUniversity of Berlin was founded. During the long period of peace which followed the downfall ofNapoleon a new development of the city began and its artistic embellishment of Schinkel, Rauch,Schadow, and others made rapid progress. In 1838 the first railway, from Berlin to Potsdam, was opened; the railway traffic increased the industrial importance of the city, and in 1844 the first large industrial exhibition of the German States belonging to the customs-union was held here. On the 15th of March, 1848, a revolution broke out; more than 1,000 barricades were erected, and encounters between the soldiers and the populace occurred; on the 18th of March a bloody struggle took place in the streets of Berlin in which the soldiers were victorious, but they afterwards withdrew from the city at the order of the king. In 1871 Berlin became the capital of the newGerman Empire. From 13 June to 13 July, 1878, were held the sessions of the Berlin Congress; since this date Berlin has developed into a greatmetropolis; it has become the most important industrial city of theEuropean continent, the most important railway centre, and one of the chief commercial cities of the empire.
For about one hundred and fifty years after theReformationCatholicism was suppressed in Berlin; publicCatholic church services were forbidden; Mass could be said only in the privatechapels of theCatholic embassies. As late as 1653 the elector wasobliged to promise theProtestant diet that he would not allow private or publicCatholic church services. In order to be able to raise troops more easily inCatholic districts Frederick William I in 1720 gave the first permission for the holding of publicCatholic services in a private house in Berlin; soon after this the firstCatholicchapel was fitted up. The pastoral care was exercised byDominicans from Halberstadt; the saintly Father Bruhns being particularly successful in his labours. The conquest ofCatholic Silesia by Frederick the Great drew manyCatholics to Berlin, and thechurch of St. Hedwig was built for theCatholic community (1747-73), Frederick the Great giving the ground. He also built a small church at the home for disabled soldiers, for theCatholic pensioners. The addition of largeCatholic territories in consequence of the partition ofPoland, the secularization of 1802-03, and that of 1815 by the Vienna Congress likewise increased the number ofCatholics in Berlin, but it was not until 1848 that they obtained more freedom. Since then the growth of theCatholic population has kept pace with the development of the municipality. Under Frederick the Great theCatholic population was about 5,000 in 107,000 inhabitants; in 1817 there were 186,570Protestants to 6,157Catholics; in 1843, 16,453Catholics, to 328,253Protestants; 1853, 19,075Catholics; 1871, 51,517; 1885, 99,579; 1900, 188,440Catholics in Berlin proper. Church buildings did not increase in the same ratio, and the need of more edifices grew continually greater. With the aid of the whole ofCatholicGermany a number ofCatholic churches was erected in the decade beginning with 1890 to meet this want, but the construction of new church buildings, especially in the rapidly growing environs and suburbs of Berlin is still one of the most imperative needs ofCatholicism in the capital of theGerman Empire.
Ecclesiastically, Berlin belongs to the Delegation of the Mark of Brandenburg, which is under a delegate of the Prince-Bishop ofBreslau; the delegate is the Provost of St. Hedwig's in Berlin. The Archipresbyterate of Berlin embraces the city of Berlin with the exception of a small part of Friedrichsberg (2,686Catholics), and includes also the suburbs called Treptow, Straulau, Schoneberg, and a part of Charlottenburg (as far as theparish of St. Matthias); theCatholics in the presbyterate numbered in 1907, 239,666, of whom 221,262 lived in Berlin proper. The other suburbs, both large and small, belong to the Archipresbyterate of Charlottenburg. In 1907 theCatholicclergy of Berlin consisted of 13clergy of higher rank (theprovost, 7parishpriests, and 5 militarychaplains), 31 assistantclergy, 7priests in other positions, and 15 living in community--altogether 66priests, of whom 26 do not come from theDiocese of Breslau. The archipresbyterate is divided for thecure of souls into 14 districts composed of 8parishes and 6 vicariates; in 1907 another vicariate was in process of erection. TheCatholic soldiers are formed into 6 church communities orparishes; Berlin is also the seat of theCatholic field-provostship for thePrussian army and the imperial navy. In 1907 Berlin had 8Catholicparish churches and 18chapels where public church services were held; these with the privatechapels made 31 church edifices; 1 church building and 1chapel were then in process of construction. With the exception of thechurch of St. Hedwig and the church in the home for invalided soldiers, all of theCatholic church buildings of Berlin were erected in more recent times. The principal churches are: St. Hedwig (1747-73--see above); in the style of the Pantheon atRome; St. Michael, the firstCatholic garrison-church of Berlin (1851-61) in earlyRenaissance style; St. Sebastian, the largestCatholic church of Berlin (1890-93) inGothic style, tower 269 feet high; St. Paul, aDominican church (1892-93) inGothic style; St. Matthew, a Gothic building (1893-95), tower 302 feet high; St. Pius (1898-94), rather tasteless Gothic; St. John, the secondCatholic garrison church and one of the largest buildings of Berlin (1894-97), in Romanesque style; church of the Heart of Jesus (Herz-Jesukirche), Romanesque style (1897-98).
There has been no publicCatholic higherschool for boys in Berlin since the struggle between theCatholicChurch and the State (Kulturkampf) swept away theCatholic Progymnasium; there is, however a private higherschool for boys with about 130 pupils. TheCatholic boys who attend the state and city high-schools are divided, for purposes of religious instruction, into twelve groups of four sections each. There are 3 higherCatholicschools for girls; two of these prepare teachers, and one is conducted by theUrsulines and includes a conservatory of music. There are 30Catholicschools for primary instruction, attended by over 20,000Catholic children, namely theparishschool of St. Hedwig and 29Catholic town-districtschools.
The male orders in Berlin are:Dominicans, 1 house with 10priests and 7 brothers; the Poor Brothers of St. Francis, 1 house with 17 brothers who carry on anorphan asylum for boys. Thefemale orders and congregations in Berlin proper had, in 1907, 18 houses and 387 inmates: theUrsulines, a house with 37 inmates, carry on a boarding-school for girls, a higherschool for girls united to a privateseminary for teachers and a conservatory of music; theSisters of St. Charles Borromeo, a house with 56 Sisters, have charge of St. Hedwig'shospital, which has an average of 530 patients and 160 convalescents;Dominicannuns, 4 houses with 95sisters, carry on the St. Katherine Home, which includes a day-nursery and home forwomen servants, the St. Antonius Home, which includes a kindergarten and nursery for small children, a home forwomen servants, and an institution of visiting nurses for the sick and poor, the Maria-Victoria Sanatorium, ahospital and institution for visiting-nurses for the sick and poor, and the St. Vincent Ferrer Home, a dispensary and home of nurses for the sick and poor and a home forwomen servants; the Grey Sisters, 7 houses with 137sisters, have in charge 4 dispensaries and homes for visiting-nurses, St. Joseph's Hospital, and theSt. Afra Home, which includes a rescue andorphan asylum, a home forwomen servants and a creche; these sisters are also the nurses in 2 garrisonhospitals. The Sisters of St. Mary, 58 sisters in 4 houses, 1 of which is in Berlin-Rixdorf, conduct the Hospital of St. Mary, 3 homes for visiting-nurses, and a housekeeping andneedleworkschool combined with a kindergarten. TheSisters of St. Joseph, 13 sisters in 1 house, conduct a hospice or boarding-home for singlewomen and young girls; a boarding-school where housekeeping is taught, and a house for retreats. St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, housing 200 children, is conducted by ladies, not professed religious, who lead a king of conventual life. Taking these and otherCatholic institutions together, there are in Berlin proper 4Catholichospitals, 12 dispensaries and homes for visiting-nurses, 4 institutions for convalescents, 3 institutions for the care of small children, 9 day-nurseries, 5 homes for children of school-age, 3 hospices for young men, 6 hospices, or boarding-homes, for ladies--for self-supportingwomen who are bookkeepers, telephone employees, and the like--8 homes for girls who are out of employment; 7 housekeeping andneedleworkschools, 3orphan asylums and institutions for first communicants, 1 rescue home for girls.
There is much activity among theCatholicsocieties of Berlin. In 1907 the religious associations were: 21 brotherhoods andconfraternities of the Rosary; 9societies of the Childhood of Jesus; 8societies ofChristian mothers; 7 confraternities of the Holy Family; 7 altarsocieties for the making of vestments; 11St. Charles Borromeo societies; 9societies for collecting funds, especially for the Boniface associations; 12 sodalities of the B.V.M., 10 youths' or St. Aloysius sodalities. Among the local charitable associations are: theCatholic charity organization of Berlin and its suburbs, an association of all theCatholic benevolent institutions, endowments, andsocieties of Berlin and its environs; Societies ofSt. Vincent de Paul, including 16 conferences for men and 16 conferences forwomen; the St. Hedwig'swomen's association; thesociety of the B.V.M. for the protection of girls; 4societies for the care of lying-inwomen; theCatholic burial association; thesociety for the care of theCatholic deaf and dumb of Berlin, its environs, and the whole delegature. The most important associations in connection with the various callings are: theCatholic Journeymen's Union, having a building of its own; theCatholic Apprentices' Union; the Master-Workmen's Union; 13Catholic workmen's unions, with about 2800 working-men members, which belong to the district organization for Berlin; 11 associations, having 1500 members, which belong to the Berlin district organization, and are composed of working-women, unmarried, and marriedwomen; the unions of the organizedCatholic Workingmen's associations (28); theChristian unions, 32 groups with over 4000 workingmen members; theCatholic business men'ssociety with 400 members; 2societies ofCatholic male andfemale teachers; 9 associations ofCatholic students; 2Philistersocieties. Among the political associations should be named: the Peoples Union ofCatholicGermany with about 4000 members; 13 organized groups in Berlin proper of theCentre Party; the Windthorst Union. Besides these there are some 20 singing, and church-choir,societies, and about 25 socialsocieties. The most important of the 6Catholic papers are: "The Germania", and the "Markische Zeitung".
Streckfuss,Berlin im 19, Jahrh. (Berlin, 1867-69); Idem,500 Jahre Berliner Gesch. (5th ed., Berlin, 1900); Schwebel,Gesch. der Stadt Berlin (Berlin, 1888); Geiger,Berlin 1688-1840 (Berlin, 1893-94); Holtze,Gesch. der Stadt Berlin (Tübingen, 1906); Cortain,Das kathol. Berlin (Berlin, 1906);Amtliche Fuhrer durch die furstbischofliche Delegatur (Berlin, 1907).
APA citation.Lins, J.(1907).Berlin. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02493b.htm
MLA citation.Lins, Joseph."Berlin."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 2.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1907.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02493b.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Susan Birkenseer.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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