This is the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady on Wrangelstraße in Kreuzberg. It is described as neo-Romanesque and dates from as recently as 1905. It is one truly weird church. In the little courtyard outside there is a high column with Our Lady on the top of it. I'm told she looks very spooky at night when silhouetted against the central arched window which lights up a bright blue.

To save you the spooky bit I have imported the window from a night shot so you can see the blue effect in the daylight.

Having got rid of that spooky bit, you can let your eye travel down the column until it meets Our Lady's security detail at the bottom. Scary guys.

If you're prepared to pass them you can have a look inside. When I arrived, the door was gated so I looked in through the bars. The inside looks very nice. Straight Roman and sparse.

Until you look closer at the altar and you get a sort of Orthodox iconic feeling.

This effect is reinforced by the side altar on the left.

And again by the side altar on the right, in front of which is a solid pulpit with a holy hanging roof.

Eventually your gaze wanders upwards into the dome above the main alter and your eyes are assaulted by a pair of primitive but attractive stained glass windows.(They're actually further apart but I pulled them in together for the photo.)

Some really confusing visuals there all round.

I gather the church has had a chequered history and it went into decline, as did the surrounding area, after the Wall was built very close by. It has been restored and now seems to have a new lease of life. The church's welcome page seems to portray an open and sharing community with an emphasis on social provision and acceptance of a wide range of believers and those whose belief is in doubt.

I'm just sorry I didn't have more time to come back and suss out the people behind the open community housed in this weird structure.

Just in case you're still curious about the spooky night shot, here it is. The closest you'll ever get to what Bernadette saw at Lourdes.