First half of the 19th century

1900 | 8 | 5|

Catholic workers and soldiers moved to the Protestant-dominated area of Brandenburg-Prussia [now Berlin]. Many of them came from Poland and Silesia. They were involved in the construction of the Luisenstadt canal, commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Construction began during the Revolution of 1848. A civic militia supervised the workers – this was the only way to ensure completion of the project.

In 1816, there were already 2076 Catholics serving in the military. By 1858, this number had more than doubled: it was time to build a Catholic garrison church. Protestant garrison churches had already been in existence since the early 18th century.