schmidinger möbelbau was entrusted with the furnishing of St Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin.

The project included a wide range of furnishings for the cathedral: more than 700 church chairs and children’s stools, large and small display cases – including cases for the famous Neapolitan nativity scene and historic reliquary figures – as well as offering tables, credence tables, donation boxes and a candle ring. Central liturgical pieces, including the altar and ambo for the lower church, were also produced and delivered to Berlin at the end of 2025. Installation on site took place from 11 to 17 November.

The furnishings were produced in the workshop in Schwarzenberg and by partners specialising in metalwork, glass, upholstery and wood, all located in the region of Bregenzerwald. With a remarkable lead time of eight years, schmidinger möbelbau had already produced several prototypes for the project.

In the competition for the redesign of the cathedral, which attracted submissions from almost 170 architectural practices, the jury selected the proposal by Sichau & Walter Architekten in collaboration with Austrian artist Leo Zogmayer.

A key factor in schmidinger möbelbau’s favour was its established portfolio of furniture for sacred spaces.

St Hedwig’s Cathedral: From the Pantheon to a Cathedral for the 21st Century

St Hedwig’s Cathedral was the first Catholic church permitted to be built in Frederick the Great’s royal capital after the Reformation. Inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, the centrally planned building was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff and completed under the supervision of Johann Boumann the Elder in 1773, directly on the Forum Fridericianum, today’s Bebelplatz.

During the reconstruction of the cathedral following the Second World War, and before the construction of the Berlin Wall, the diocese commissioned Düsseldorf architect Hans Schwippert to restore the interior.