1980’lerde Doğu Almanya’da Koruma Politikaları ve Bir Rekonstrüksiyon Örneği Olarak Berlin-Mitte Nikolaikirche

Abstract

Nikolaikirche is situated in Nikolaiviertel which is known as the oldest settlement of Berlin and dated back to the 13th century as the oldest church of the city. This region has become a center of attraction for tourists mainly for the richness of its cultural history and the renovation works carried out in the 1980’s. There are many diverse studies about the settlement history of Nikolaiviertel and the architectural history of Nikolaikirche. But this study aims both to enlighten the reconstruction process made during the DDR years of 1980’s to the church which was damaged heavily during World War II and to focus to the conservation policy of that era to be able to analyse the subject from a wider perspective while dealing with this reconstruction process. This article also examines the architectural history of Nikolaikirche chronologically and reveals the architectural alterations which was made until it suffered damage in the World War II. After the war, as a building in a place within the borders of DDR with the separation of Germany, the fate of the church had long been undecided and it was abandoned to decay for about forty years. As a consequence of the considerable increase in the importance attached to the restoration and exhibition of historical monuments in DDR, in a later time it was resolved that Nikolaiviertel along with Nikolaikirche would be reconstructed. The restoration work of the church which began in 1981, continued until 1987. One can clearly see the role of political power and the human factor on the destiny of a historical building in the example of Nikolaikirche while examining the alteration, destruction and reconstruction processes of it from past to present.