The history of Schloss Buch is as tragic as the story of its former inhabitant. Julie von Voß, who was born at Schloss Buch and was to marry King Friedrich Wilhelm II in her third marriage, died at the age of 22. The castle was demolished in 1964. All that remains is the castle church, which is now being extensively renovated. The destroyed tower and the lost dome have now been rebuilt. […]
The history of Schloss Buch is as tragic as the story of its former inhabitant. Julie von Voß, who was born at Schloss Buch and was to marry King Friedrich Wilhelm II in her third marriage, died at the age of 22. The castle was demolished in 1964. All that remains is the castle church, which is now being extensively renovated. The destroyed tower and the lost dome have now been rebuilt.
Buch was first mentioned in documents as early as 1342. The Lords of Röbel acquired the land in 1483 and built a new manor house. In the 17th century, the castle was sold to Gerhard Bernhard Freiherr von Pölnitz (1617- 1679). He had the garden laid out in the Dutch style in keeping with the tastes of the time, but left the manor house as it was. After his death, his widow inherited the house, which was sold by her grandchildren to Adam Otto von Viereck (1684-1758) in 1742. He had the manor house converted into a castle, incorporating the old parts of the building. The architect Friedrich Wilhelm Dieterichs (1702-1782) was commissioned to carry out the work. Two single-storey wings were added to the old manor house. A representative dining hall was built on the garden side, decorated with rococo elements. From 1731, a castle church was also built. Theodor Fontane already mentioned this church and wrote about it: “This church in Buch is a rather striking building”. However, it is also clear from his text that he found the building remarkable, but as he did not particularly appreciate the Baroque style, his opinion was not a negative one. After the death of Adam Otto von Viereck, a lottery decided which of his children would receive the castle. It was his daughter Amalie Ottilie (1736-1767) who had the luck of the draw and was subsequently awarded the castle. Amalie Ottilie was married to Friedrich Christoph Hieronymus von Voß (1724-1784), a legion councillor and provost of the cathedral. The marriage produced four children, one of whom was Julie Amalie Elisabeth von Voß, later Countess Ingenheim. Theodor Fontane dedicated a separate chapter to the fate of Julie von Voß in his book “Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg” in the volume “Spreeland”.
Julie, who was born in Buch on July 24, 1766, became lady-in-waiting to Queen Elisabeth Christine of Prussia (1715-1797), the wife of Frederick II (1712-1786), in 1783. The marriage between Elisabeth Christine and Frederick II was childless, so that his nephew Frederick William became heir to the throne. Frederick William and Julie, described by Fontane as a beauty in the spirit of Titian, fell in love. At this time, however, he was already married to Queen Friederike Luise. However, she gave her written consent to the morganatic marriage of the king and Julie von Voss. The couple entered into this “second marriage” on April 7, 1787 in the Charlottenburg Palace Chapel. In November 1787, Julie was elevated to Countess of Ingenheim by Frederick II. However, their happiness was short-lived, as after just two years of marriage, the young countess succumbed to galloping consumption at the age of 22. A cenotaph in the castle park still commemorates her today, and she is said to have found her final resting place in a crypt in the castle church at Buch Castle. The castle, of which no traces remain today, was rebuilt by a descendant of Julie Amalie Elisabeth in 1881 in the neo-Renaissance style. Her brother, who inherited the palace, sold it to the city of Berlin in 1898. From then on, it served as a summer residence for the Lord Mayors of Berlin. The palace was spared major damage during the Second World War and served as a children’s holiday home between 1952 and 1958. Sponge infestation severely damaged the building and it was demolished in 1964. This was also due to the fact that the responsible authorities did not have the economic means to do so. First and foremost, however, there was a lack of political will in the GDR to preserve the building.
The castle church, although burnt out in the Second World War, was preserved, albeit with a much less ornate interior than originally. The church tower, which burnt out and collapsed on the night of November 19, 1943, was not rebuilt. The interior was restored in a sober style. The parish was only able to finance emergency safety measures. Since 2007, a support association has been working to rebuild the church tower, including the original dome. The interior of the church is also to be restored. Various trades are working together to restore the castle church to its former glory. NÜTHEN is responsible for the new dome in the interior and A-Z Holzbau for the reconstruction of the church tower. The roofing work was carried out by Dennert and the masonry work by K&R. In cooperation with many other trades, all those involved are endeavoring to restore the church to its former appearance. The architectural firms Bernd Redlich (up to the approval planning stage) and Jordi & Keller (implementation planning up to site supervision) were and are involved in the planning. In coordination with the monument protection authorities, modifications were made in some areas. While the interior has been carefully modernized in some places, the exterior appearance is close to the original. The Potsdam architectural firm Bernd Redlich was entrusted with the plans for the reconstruction up to the building permit. A particular challenge was that the plans were stored in various archives. Thus began a search for clues that led not only to archives in Brandenburg and Berlin and the parish archives, but also to the Folkwang Museum in Essen, where there is still a painting that shows the original state of the church. With the help of the painting by Johann Erdmann Hummel (1769-1852), it was possible to reconstruct the original color scheme of the church. The painting, which was created in 1836, also shows the shape of the tower gallery and the division of the windows in the lucarnes. The two design drawings from the time of construction in the Berlin museums’ collection of hand drawings are a particular treasure. In addition to the plans of the building and the painting, it was also possible to consult old photographs and measurements. The requirement of the conservation authorities was that the building should be restored to its original appearance, especially on the outside. However, Bernd Redlich and Andreas Kitschke from the Redlich architects’ office had to make some adjustments in order to meet today’s building regulations and structural requirements. Although they used pine wood for the tower construction, as they did for the original building, additional steel reinforcements were installed. In addition, a reinforced concrete ceiling was installed between the tower and the church interior for fire protection. The preservation authorities also stipulated that the building should be rebuilt according to the old plans, but that it should be recognizable as a reconstruction. The architects used materials that had already been used for the construction of the church in the 18th century, so the tower was also clad in wood again.
The reconstruction of the interior was primarily intended to restore the historical proportions. The galleries to be rebuilt form the centerpiece of this. They had not been restored when the completely burnt-out interior was rebuilt. Only the organ loft was rebuilt in a modern form. The current reconstruction of the galleries has returned the church interior to its original, more intimate character. The galleries were adorned with carvings made from oak wood. Like the pulpit, the altar and other furnishings, they had been removed before the church fire and have been partially preserved. The plans envisage that the missing parts will be replaced in color.
With the support of a specially founded support association, which has been committed to the reconstruction of the tower since 2007, work began in 2012 with the architectural firm Deschan Hannusch to survey the existing structure. With additional funding from the Protestant church, the state of Berlin and the federal government, the planning was drawn up by the Redlich architectural office in 2016 and the implementation planning by the ARGE Schlosskirche Buch consortium (Jordi & Keller Architekten with Schwieger, Raue & Partner, graduate restorers/engineers) in 2020. In 2022, construction work began on the castle church under the direction of Jordi & Keller Architekten. Before major demolition work could begin, the pews, the figure of St. Matthew and the baptismal font had to be removed. Then the demolition work in the church began. The tiled floor, which dated back to the 1980s, was removed first. Insulation materials that were installed in the GDR era also had to be removed. In 2023, demolition work began on the previous dome construction to make room for the tower and the dome. In the process, some of the pollutants were discovered. Unforeseen challenges also caused delays in construction, as Susanne Keller explains. For example, the floor beneath the church was not stable and the outline of the crypt was much larger. However, this was only discovered after the old floor coverings had been removed. The Covid-19 pandemic caused further problems, as did delays in the supply of materials. However, delays due to unforeseen circumstances are simply part and parcel of building in existing structures, as Keller explains.
Parallel to the demolition work, the first restoration measures were already taking place inside the church under the supervision of Olaf Schwieger and Professor Jan Raue. In addition to an epitaph, the altar and pulpit also had to be restored. The altar and pulpit were restored by the wood conservator Sascha Hahn, the epitaph by the conservator Henriette Lemnitz. The tomb of the von Viereck/Voß family, which is also located in the church, is in a very poor condition. This is another unforeseeable event. The resulting additional costs must then be covered in part with the help of additional pots or donations collected by the Friends.
Once the demolition work was complete, the reconstruction work could begin. The parish’s main wish was to rebuild the tower, which was a landmark of the village. After the post-war flat dome had been dismantled, scaffolding was built to erect the tower. Work on the reconstruction began in October 2023. The spire had already been completed and was located in the churchyard. In December of the same year, work could also begin on the construction of the “welsh” tower dome. The base was a wooden construction, which was then boarded with wood and covered by the Dennert roofing company.
The dome of the interior, which is located in the torso of the church, was designed as a Rabitz construction by the NÜTHEN company. The word “Rabitz” refers to a metal construction that supports the stucco. This technique goes back to the Berlin master bricklayer Carl Rabitz, who had the process patented in 1878. The advantage of a Rabitz dome is that it is relatively light and almost any shape is possible. The gypsum plaster in the dome was applied in a total of three layers. To draw attention to the special history of the church, cartouches were made by sculptor Bernhard Lankers, based on an idea by Marc Jordi, which refer to the destruction caused by the firebombs. In future, they will be located near the tower clocks. In addition to this work, a repainting of the dome is also planned. The plans for this were drawn up in consultation with the lower and upper monument protection authorities, the building authority of the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz, the representatives of the parish church council, the architectural firm Jordi & Keller and their partners for the specialist restoration planning and specialist construction management, the restorers Prof. Professor Jan Raue and Olaf Schwieger, and the work will be carried out by the monument-sensitive painting company Pictor. The decision was ultimately made in August 2024 in favor of an illusionistic ribbed painting.
A particular highlight of the work took place in August, when the tower received its lantern. The lantern was made by the carpentry firm A-Z Holzbau. It is crowned by a gilded cross made by the blacksmith Wilfried Schwuchow. After the tower was completed, it was ceremoniously unveiled on September 9, 2024 at the topping-out and crowning ceremony. In its completed state, the tower now rises 40.67 meters into the air. It was also important to the community to give the Berlin district of Buch a center and a center again. In addition to the work on the interior, work is also planned on the façade so that the church will probably be able to shine again in its original appearance in the late summer of 2025.
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