I enjoyed my visit to St. Paul's Church, it was very nice and there many others things to look around in the area.
I enjoyed my visit to St. Paul's Church, it was very nice and there many others things to look around in the area.
The only thing that makes it obvious that this building is/was a church is the cross on the tower. It is a lovely roundish building with a simple exterior and elegant interior. Worth a visit.
You can visit the upper hall, although it has been extensively rebuilt, and read about the history of the 1848 German parliament, which was mercilessly repressed by the monarchies. There is also a rather odd 360-degree mural.
We visited this with our children (7 & 8) and it wasn't so interesting to them. I'd recommend an adult's only visit so you can enjoy the history of the building.
It is one of the tragedies of Germany's history that the Revolution of 1848 was crushed by the Prussian military. It was only for a few months that the first freely elected democratic parliament gathered in this church to work on a new consitution. A constitution that would have united all German lands under a constitutional monarch. But Prussia's King Frederick William would have none of it and sent his troups to destroy the fledgling democracy. Unfortunately the interior of the church has burned down under the bombs of World War II. But there are many paintings and maps showing what went on during that Revolution.
I've seen enough churches of every denomination to last several lifetimes and they rarely make my 'must see' list when in a new city. i enjoyed Paulskirche because of its history. Paulsksirche was consecrated as the city’s main Lutheran church in 1833, and in 1848-49 was the venue for the first German National Assembly, where the Constitution of the German Empire was passed. Eye catching murals depict scenes from that period. Paulskirche was again used as a place of worship in 1852. The last Sunday service was held on March 12, 1944;as the church was virtually destroyed by air raids on March 18 and 22,. Paulskirche was rebuilt immediately after the war in a simplified form, and re-consecrated on May 18, 1948 for the centenary of the German National Assembly. Paulskirche was not used as a place of worship after the 1948 re-opening, and the plenary chambers currently serve as a venue for special ceremonial activities and presentations of awards.