Berlin - Parish Church

(Local Name: Parochialkirche) The parish church, Berlin's first Baroque church, was designed by J. A. Nering. Its construction was begun by the Court Architect Ph. Grünberg in 1695 and completed by Philipp Gerlach in 1714. It suffered severe damage in the Second World War, but the tower, designed by Jean de Bodt and built by Gerlach, survived. Frederick William had it equipped with a Dutch peal of 37 bells, which rang for the first time in 1715 and for the last time in 1944. After having been used as a store room, the building is now being restored. Religious services are held in a chapel in the tower. Kaspar Wegely (died 1764), the founder of the Royal Porcelain Manufactory, is buried in the churchyard. Remains of the city wall

On Waisenstrasse behind the church can be seen remains of the medieval Berlin city wall dating from the 13th-14th C. At No. 16 Waisenstrasse is the well-known restaurant "Zur letzten Instanz" (The Final Court of Appeal), thought to be the oldest in Berlin.

Klosterkirche

A little way north in Klosterstrasse will be found the ruins of the 13th C. monastery church which formed part of the Franciscan monastery founded in 1254 on the neighboring green. In 1574, the monastery was converted into the "Grammar School in the Gray Monastery," with such famous pupils as Schadow, Schleiermacher, Schinkel and Bismarck. Friedrich Ludwig Jahn was both scholar and teacher here.