Christmas 2026 · Berlin
Carol services and Christmas concerts in Berlin, 2026
In Berlin, Christmas sounds like Bach. Between Advent Sunday and Christmas Eve the Christmas Oratorio is sung in church after church, boys’ choirs fill the Dom, and on 24 December the great Protestant churches hold Christvesper after Christvesper. Here is what we could confirm on the churches’ own pages on 12 November 2026, including two services of lessons and carols in English.
Updated October 2026
Lessons and carols in English
Berlin’s English Choir keeps the Anglican tradition twice this Advent. On Advent Sunday, 29 November, it sings Advent Lessons and Carols in the Berliner Dom at 6pm, under William Peart, with the cathedral organist Andreas Sieling; admission is free. On Sunday 20 December at 6pm it sings Nine Lessons and Carols in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Breitscheidplatz.
Our advice: arrive early for both; the Dom’s carol service is the most English hour of the Berlin Christmas. St George’s Anglican Church in Westend had not published its 2026 Christmas services when we checked.
Berliner Dom: Advent Lessons and Carols Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church: calendar
The Berliner Dom
On Christmas Eve the Dom closes to sightseers: Christvespers at 2pm (with the chapel choir of the Staats- und Domchor), 4pm (the full Staats- und Domchor under Kai-Uwe Jirka) and 6pm (the Oratorio Choir of the Domkantorei), and night services at 10pm and midnight. All are public, need no registration and are livestreamed. On Christmas Day there are services at 10am and 6pm.
December’s concerts begin with A Ceremony of Carols, the RIAS Kammerchor with the Staats- und Domchor, on 5 December at 6pm, and an open Advent carol sing with the Domkantorei on 6 December at 6pm. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, cantatas I–III, follows on 18 December at 8pm and 19 December at 3pm and 6pm; the Rundfunkchor Berlin gives its Christmas concert on 22 December at 8pm, and Distler’s Christmas Story is sung on 23 December at 6pm.
After Christmas, the boys of the Staats- und Domchor join the lautten compagney for a nativity play on 26 December at 4pm, and the full Christmas Oratorio, cantatas I–VI, is sung that evening at 7.30pm. Concerts are ticketed through the Dom’s own shop.
Our advice: for the Christvespers, queue well before the start; the 4pm service with the boys’ choir is the one Berliners prize most.
Berliner Dom: events and tickets Rundfunkchor Berlin: Christmas Concert 2026
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Tuxyso · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsEgon Eiermann’s blue-glass church beside the ruined tower on Breitscheidplatz has one of the fullest Advents in the city. The Bach-Chor sings the Christmas Oratorio, cantatas I–III on Friday 11 December at 7pm and IV–VI on Saturday 12 December at 6pm; Ensemble Memoria pairs it with C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat on 5 December at 6pm (€20–€38). Advent carol singing opens the season on 29 November at 6pm.
On Christmas Eve there are Christvespers at 2pm (with a musical nativity play and the Staats- und Domchor), 4pm (Bach-Chor) and 6pm (Ensemble Memoria), a further service at 8pm, and the Christnacht at 10pm. Our advice: the Christmas market fills the square outside; come from the Kurfürstendamm side.
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church: calendar
St Hedwig’s Cathedral
Berlin’s Catholic cathedral on Bebelplatz, reopened after its long restoration, holds the Christmas concert of its choirs on Sunday 20 December at 4pm. Its Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Mass times for 2026 were not yet published when we checked; the cathedral posts them in its celebration plan. Our advice: check the cathedral’s page in mid-December, and pair a visit with the Staatsoper across the square.
Choirs of St Hedwig’s Cathedral St Hedwig’s Cathedral: celebration plan
How to get a seat
Christmas Eve services in Berlin’s great churches are open to all, with no tickets, and they fill fast: arrive at least 45 minutes early. Concerts, including the Christmas Oratorio, are ticketed and sell out; book through each church’s own page. Dress warmly, and expect a collection.
Our advice: Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday, so the Oratorio performances cluster on the weekends of 12–13 and 19–20 December. Pair an evening concert with the markets in our Christmas in Berlin guide.
Questions and answers
What time are the Christmas Eve services at the Berliner Dom in 2026?
On Thursday 24 December 2026 the Dom holds Christvespers at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm and night services at 10pm and midnight. They are public, with no registration, and livestreamed on the Dom’s website.
Is there an English carol service in Berlin in 2026?
Yes. The English Choir Berlin sings Advent Lessons and Carols in the Berliner Dom on Sunday 29 November at 6pm (free admission) and Nine Lessons and Carols in the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Sunday 20 December at 6pm.
Where can I hear Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in Berlin in 2026?
At the Berliner Dom (cantatas I–III on 18 and 19 December, and I–VI on 26 December) and at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (the Bach-Chor on 11 and 12 December, and Ensemble Memoria on 5 December).
Dates and times from each church’s or choir’s own page (berlinerdom.de, gedaechtniskirche-berlin.de, hedwigs-kathedrale.de, hedwigschor-berlin.de, rundfunkchor-berlin.de), checked 12 November 2026. Check before you go.