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Open Day and festive service
After more than ten years of planning and six years of construction, Berlin Cathedral will celebrate the reopening of the Hohenzollern Crypt over an entire weekend at the end of February 2026.
Image gallery
Särge in der Hohenzollerngruft
Detail des Sarges von Wilhelm Heinrich Kurprinz von Brandenburg
Särge in der Hohenzollerngruft
Sarg von Karl Philipp Markgraf von Brandenburg-Schwedt
Berliner Dom, Außenaufnahme
Särge
On Saturday, 28 February, Berlin Cathedral invites all interested parties to attend the ‘Open Day on the occasion of the reopening of the Hohenzollern Crypt’ free of charge. The day is a gift to the people of Berlin and visitors to the city.
On Sunday, 1 March at 10 a.m., a grand festive service will be held with guests from the worlds of culture, politics, the church and society.
About the Hohenzollern Crypt
As the most important burial place of the Brandenburg and Prussian dynasty, the Hohenzollern Crypt holds centuries of history. With 91 preserved sarcophagi, the Hohenzollern Crypt impressively documents the development of sepulchral art and culture, as well as the changes in dynastic representation over five centuries. It houses the coffins of important personalities, including Elector Joachim Friedrich and Queen Sophie Dorothea, the mother of Frederick II. The mortal remains of the Great Elector, King Frederick I, the first king of Prussia, and his beloved second wife, Queen Sophie Charlotte, also rest in the crypt. The Hohenzollern Crypt is one of the most important dynastic burial sites in Europe, comparable to the Capuchin Crypt in Vienna or the Escorial near Madrid. In 2019, the last year before its closure, around 765,000 people visited Berlin Cathedral and its crypt.
About the renovation
The renovation of the Hohenzollern crypt is the largest construction project at Berlin Cathedral since its reconstruction after the Second World War. Financially and organisationally challenging, the project is a significant contribution to the preservation of German and European history. The renovation of the approximately 1,400 m² crypt had become necessary due to the steadily increasing number of visitors, which had led to considerable climatic stress, and the changing demands of tourist visits over the years. As an important part of the cultural institutions on Berlin's Museum Island, the crypt was in urgent need of renovation worthy of its significance. Last but not least, barrier-free access was also an important concern. The current measures include, among other things, climatic optimisation of the burial site, accessibility facilities, infrastructure modernisation, an improved visitor experience and the return of the coffins to their historical location. In addition, a new exhibition space is being created that sensitively illustrates the history of the burial site and the burial traditions of the last centuries up to the present day through objects, texts, films and a scale interactive model of the crypt.
