Memoria Urbana (lat. “City memory”, also colloquially “ reconstruction of the Bethlehem church”) is a city sculpture created by a Spanish author named Juan Garaizabal and located in the center of the square of the Bethlehem church of the same name ( German Böhmis Kirche, Bethlehemskirche ), in the Mitte district. The sculpture was erected in June 2012 on the site of a mosaic designating the exact place where the vanished Bethlehem Church was located, and outlining its original dimensions. [1] 800 meters (2,600 linear feet ) of square - shaped steel pipes (12x12 cm / 4.7x4.7 inches) and 300 meters (984 linear feet ) of LED lighting were used for its construction. Its structure repeats in the air the outline of a church that has disappeared, strictly observing its dimensions in the form of a sketch . At night, some of its sections, through which light previously passed, emphasize the backlight lines. Its exact dimensions are 25 meters (from west to east), 15 meters (from north to south) and 31 meters in height (82x49x101 feet ). It weighs 40 tons (44 US tons ). [2]
| Monument | |
| Berlin City Memorial | |
|---|---|
| Memoria Urbana Berlin | |
 | |
| A country |  Germany |
| Plaza | Bethlehemkirchplatz, Mitte Berlin |
| Established | |
| Date of Abolition | |
| Height | |
It was originally planned to install the sculpture as temporary, for about 4 months. Subsequently, this period was extended to a year, and in December 2013, local authorities decided to assign permanent sculpture to the city sculpture. . [3] On October 14, 2014, this decision was confirmed by a vote in the Mitte District Parliament. The Lux-Bethlehem Foundation, which includes 20 of the public and private organizations that supported the initiative to preserve the sculpture on an ongoing basis, acts as a guarantor of the subsequent maintenance of the monument with funds from various charitable donations.
The memorial is a monument to freedom of consciousness and immigration . It is also a tribute to the role of Berlin, as a city that accepts immigrants and its spirit of tolerance focused on European thinking . The Bethlehem Church was built between 1733 and 1735 in the territory called “ Friedrichstadt ” (now it is the territory of the Mitte district), personifying one of the most important chapters in the history of relations between Prussia and Bohemia . Thanks to Emperor Frederick William I , refugees from Bohemia , forced to emigrate from their country, fleeing religious persecution, were accepted and located in the territory of Friedrichstadt, like many refugees of other nationalities, for example, French Huguenots. Kirche is a symbol of tolerance and openness of the German government . In 1943, the church was badly damaged by bombing. In 1963, it was finally demolished and in its place were located the buildings of the famous Checkpoint Charlie .
Juan Garaisabal calls himself an immigrant in Berlin , a city in which he was able to gain freedom to create and the ability to realize his artistic intentions. His work “Berlin City Memorial” is a tribute to the courage of Bohemian immigrants and a monument to all immigrants, including himself, as well as a recognition of the generosity and openness of historical Prussia and modern Berliners. The sculptor’s creation is a kind of technical and aesthetic innovation of the present, built on the basis of the heroic historical past. Thus, this work symbolizes the city’s ability to extract the best from the heritage of the past and project it with confidence into the present. Thanks to this, the Bethlehem Church regains its shape and becomes a place for meetings and reflection, a point of reunion of the past and the present, every night illuminating the square with its avant-garde light. “In order to understand my creations, you don’t need to be a scholar, however, the contact with my work causes a strong desire to visit the library and begin to study archives!” Juan Garaisabal