Drawing using pastels
One of Berlin's iconic buildings, the half-ruined Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (occasionally known as theEmperor William Memorial Church together with its modern additions is located on Breitscheidplatz in the centre of western Berlin and dominates the view from the
Kurfürstendamm and the
TauentzienstrasseThe church was originally constructed between 1891 and 1895 by architect Franz Schwechten, who was also responsible for the original
Anhalter Bahnhof, as a present to the German people from the then Kaiser Wilhelm II. It serves as a memorial to Wilhem II's father, Wilhelm I.
The war-damaged church in
July 1945The church was partially destroyed during a bombing raid in 1943. Following the war, several different options for the church's redevelopment were considered, including the construction of a new church made from glass in the old church's ruins, and also its complete demolition and replacement with a new structure. Eventually it was decided to leave the ruined tower as a memorial to the futility of war, and create a new church around it.