Culturally particularly valuable since 1791

The former headquarters of the “Grand Provincial Lodge of Freemasonry in Germany” at Oranienburger Straße 71/72 is the oldest surviving religious house in Germany. The building was constructed between 1789 and 1791 by lodge brother Court Architect Friedrich Christian Becherer, a co-founder of the Berlin Academy of Architecture.

The building, with its two side gateways, was a masterpiece of Berlin’s neoclassical architectural history. An additional storey was added in 1831, and between 1866 and 1867, a hall was added with a lavishly furnished, almost eight-meter-high dining room on the ground floor and a magnificent study room with paintings typical of lodges on the first floor.

In 1898, the Reichspost acquired the building and used it, among other things, for parcel distribution. The former workroom became the employee canteen. The lodge later became part of the GDR’s Institute for Postal and Telecommunications Services.

With its outstanding history, the lodge is still, if not more than ever, an extremely representative building with high cultural significance.