If you ’re looking for the oldest surviving building in our capital , you don’t need to go to Mitte (where St. Mary’s Church awaits with its incredible history) or to Spandau. In southern Berlin, surrounded by a picturesque village green, the Marienfelde Village Church awaits you.
Built as early as 1220 from massive fieldstones, the structure has defied the passage of time for over eight centuries. This place answers the question of what our metropolis actually looked like in the very beginning and combines village tranquility with fascinating history.
The Marienfelde Village Church: A Journey Back in Time to the Era of the Ascanian Dynasty
The history of this massive structure begins around the year 1220. At that time, farmers laboriously gathered rough fieldstones from the surrounding fields and stacked them up. Commissioned by the Knights Templar, they built an imposing house of worship.
It all began with the Ascanian dynasty’s expansionist policy. In the 13th century, they brought the Order of Knights into the country to secure and settle their newly conquered territories in the Teltow region.
Experts have dated one of the church’s roof beams to the 1230s. This makes it clear that this building easily takes the title of “oldest” from the famous St. Nicholas Church.
Bone Finds and the Archaeological Year 1994
What exactly lay beneath the simple hall church only came to light much later. During extensive archaeological investigations in 1994, researchers turned over every stone inside and uncovered the historic floor.
In the process, they uncovered the exact foundations of the individual construction phases. They also discovered 20 centuries-old graves directly beneath the church. Some of these were dated to a time before the church was built!
A male skeleton was left at the spot where it was found in the tower entrance and can be viewed through a glass cover. It is believed to be a Knight Templar!
Fieldstones and Architectural Details
What makes this house of worship so special is its unpretentious charm. Inside, you’ll find a simple hall church that, while it has undergone some cosmetic updates over the centuries, has remained essentially the same at its core. All that’s really missing are hundreds of candles to complete the mystical atmosphere!
Your outing to the village green
🚗 You can easily reach the historic center by car via the B101; parking is usually no problem at all in the surrounding streets.
🚇 If you’re taking public transit, just hop on the S2 to the Marienfelde station and walk the short distance, or take the M77 bus right to the door.
📍 Alt-Marienfelde, 12277 Berlin
📆 Church services on Sundays (usually at 9:30 a.m.), exterior tours at any time
⏳ 30 minutes
💵 Free
ℹ️ More info
