Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (German: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche), mostly just known as the Memorial Church (German: Gedächtniskirche [ɡəˈdɛçtnɪsˈkɪʁçə]) is a Protestant church affiliated with the Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia, a regional body of the Protestant Church in Germany. It is located in Berlin on the Kurfürstendamm in the centre of the Breitscheidplatz.
| Memorial Church | |
|---|---|
| Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church | |
Gedächtniskirche | |
Ruin of the imperial church, not rebuilt as a reminder of World War II – the modern church's belfry, built in 1963, is visible to the right. | |
| 52°30′18″N 13°20′06″E | |
| Location | Breitscheidplatz Berlin Germany |
| Denomination | Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia |
| Website | gedaechtniskirche-berlin |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Franz Schwechten (original) Egon Eiermann (current) |
| Style | Neo-Romanesque (original) Modernist (current) |
| Years built | 1891–1906 (original) 1959–1963 (current) |
The original church on the site was built in the 1890s. It was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943. The present building, which consists of a church with an attached foyer and a separate belfry with an attached chapel, was built between 1959 and 1963. The damaged spire of the old church has been retained and its ground floor has been made into a memorial hall.
The Memorial Church today is a famous landmark of western Berlin, and is nicknamed by Berliners "der hohle Zahn", meaning "the hollow tooth".