The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche) stands on Breitscheidplatz, at the start of the Kurfürstendamm, in the Charlottenburg district. Inaugurated in 1895 in memory of Emperor Wilhelm I, it was badly damaged in the bombing raid of 22 November 1943; its ruined tower, cut down from 113 to 71 metres and nicknamed the "hollow tooth" (Hohler Zahn) by Berliners, was kept as a memorial. Around it, the architect Egon Eiermann built an octagonal church and a new bell tower between 1959 and 1963, their walls made of thousands of blue glass blocks. The new church is open every day from 10am to 6pm and admission is free. Allow 30 minutes to an hour, longer if you join a guided tour.
Highlights
The ruined old tower
Of Franz Schwechten's neo-Romanesque church, only the west tower was kept after the war, with its broken silhouette. On the ground floor, the memorial hall (Gedenkhalle) preserves the 1906 mosaics, the procession of the Hohenzollerns and Christ in majesty on the vault, as well as the Cross of Nails presented by the Coventry reconciliation community in 1987. The hall has been closed since 29 August 2026 for restoration work; a new route is eventually due to make the ruin accessible right up to the top.
Egon Eiermann's blue church
Inside the octagon, 35 metres across, 11,182 small dalle de verre windows, designed and made in Chartres by the glass artist Gabriel Loire, bathe the nave in blue light flecked with red, green and yellow. Above the altar hangs a gilded brass Christ by Karl Hemmeter, 4.60 metres tall. To the left of the organ, the Stalingrad Madonna, drawn by the pastor Kurt Reuber at Christmas 1942, recalls the war. In the evening the church and the hexagonal bell tower, lit from inside, glow blue over the square.
The golden crack
On 19 December 2016, a truck attack on the Christmas market at the foot of the church killed twelve people and injured more than 60. The memorial, designed by the firm merz merz, takes the form of a golden crack running across the square from Budapester Straße up the steps of the church; the victims' names are set into the risers of the staircase.
The Schuke organ
With almost 6,000 pipes and 63 stops, the organ built in 1962-1963 by the Berlin workshop Karl Schuke, its case designed by Eiermann, is played almost every day. On Fridays at 1:45pm, an organist introduces it after a short recital; on Saturdays at 6pm, organ vespers, choral vespers and Bach cantatas take turns.
Opening hours and prices
New church open every day from 10am to 6pm, except during services, prayers and concerts; free admission. Memorial hall in the ruin closed for works since 29 August 2026, with no reopening date announced; the chapel only opens for events. Free guided tours of about 30 minutes, in German and English, without booking, every day at 11:15am, 12:15pm, 1:15pm, 2:15pm, 3:15pm and 4:15pm (on Sundays the first tour is at 11:30am); on Sundays at 11:45am and 12:45pm, a tour of the passage between the two glass walls (access by ladders). Donations are welcome; €5 is suggested for the Friday organ introduction. Prices checked in October 2026.
Infos pratiques
Tips
Guided tours meet inside the church: just turn up on time. Avoid Sunday at 10am and 6pm if you want to look around on your own, as these are service times. The Saturday 6pm organ vespers are free, with a collection at the exit; check the church's online calendar for the programme. The gentlest access ramp is on the east side, near the fountain in front of the Europa-Center.
How to get there
Breitscheidplatz, 10789 Berlin. U-Bahn U1 and U9, Kurfürstendamm station, 3 minutes' walk; U2 and U9 and S-Bahn S3, S5, S7 and S9, Zoologischer Garten station, 5 minutes' walk. Buses 100 and 200 (routes past the main sights), M19, M29, M46, X9, X10 and X34. The KaDeWe department store is about 10 minutes' walk along Tauentzienstraße.
Opening hours
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