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Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

Updated: February 13, 2023

One of the most unexpected features on the busy landscape of central Berlin is the bombed-out spire of an 1890’s era church – The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche).

Rising tall into the sky near Zoo Station, the wreckage is incongruous with the modern city around it, a visible reminder of the destruction in Berlin’s recent past.

It serves today as a monument to peace and reconciliation, and a testament to the will of Berlin – and of Germany – to rebuild after World War II without forgetting the Holocaust and the violence of war.


Visiting Hours + Guided Tours

Hours: Open daily from 12:00 pm till 17:50 (5:30 pm)

Tours: Guided tours are usually offered every hour from 12:15 pm - 17:15 (5:15 pm) daily. Check their tour schedule to make sure.

Address: The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church Breitscheidplatz, 10789 Berlin (map)

Getting Here: Kurfürstendamm, U+S - Zoologischer Garten
Bus M19, M29, M46, X9, X10, X34, 100, 109, 110, 145, 200, 204, 245

+++The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is a 5-10 minute walk away from the Berlin Zoo and from one of Berlin's famous shopping areas, the KaDeWe.+++

kaiser wilhelm memorial church
By nl:User:GerardM - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=415001

History of the Church

Built between 1891 – 1895 to honor the first German Emperor, the church was designed in a Neo-Romanesque style and featured a tall, narrow 113-meter spire that could be seen from miles around.

The original structure featured 2740 square meters of stunning mosaic dedicated to the Emperor, details sadly lost on November 23, 1943.

Air raids pummeled the church, destroying the main building and damaging its spire, leaving its height only 73 meters.

Make no mistake – this damaged, unrepaired spire’s current presence on the skyline is no accident.

It's the result of citizen outcry in the 1950s when architect Egon Eiermann, hired to rebuild the church, voiced plans to tear down the bombed spire and replace it with a modern building.

Visible reminders of the horrors of the Nazi past were rapidly disappearing from Berlin, and the public was uneasy with the complete erasure of these crimes.

Maintaining a massive symbol of World War II was seen as a meaningful gesture that would keep the memory fresh while allowing the city to move forward. It is now an iconic feature of the capital.

Eiermann respected the wishes of Berliners, and while he maintained the spire of the church he also built four new buildings surrounding the ruins.

The new buildings are made of steel, concrete, and 21,292 panels of colored stained glass - fine examples of 1960’s brutalist architecture.

Berliners call the combination of the new and old buildings the “Lipstick and Powder Puff” for their distinctive shapes on the skyline.

The damaged spire was reopened to the public in 1987, and now attracts nearly 100,000 visitors per year.

In 2007 Charles Gray, a retired British pilot who had dropped bombs on Berlin during World War II was dismayed by the rapidly decaying condition of the spire.

At his behest, a fundraising campaign was started and the money collected has been used to repair and reinforce the structure.

By Berlinuno - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48917996

While closed for extensive renovation throughout 2013, the church is again open to the public.

Visitors to the church and the Memorial Hall will see the building’s original crucifix, as well as a Cross of Nails.

This cross was composed of wreckage from Coventry Cathedral in the British Midlands, bombed by German planes in 1940.


About The Author

Anne Wittig

Anne was born in East Berlin and came of age in the unified city. She has an intimate relationship with her city of birth and still calls Berlin home. For the past 10 years, she has managed and written Free Tours by Foot's Berlin blog, detailing the best places to go, where to stay, and what to do in her hometown. This blog has been featured on Berlin's official website, mainstream press like Berlingske, and local blogs like Berlinforallthefamily.com. Over 14,000 visitors to Berlin have taken a tour from Free Tours by Foot.
Updated: February 13th, 2023
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