Why go
Together with the Kurfürstendamm boulevard, it marks the centre of former West Berlin and the present-day City West. Location Breitscheidplatz lies within the Charlottenburg district near the southwestern tip of the Tiergarten park and the Zoological Garden at the corner of Kurfürstendamm and its eastern continuation, Tauentzienstraße, leading to Schöneberg and the Kaufhaus des Westens on Wittenbergplatz.
What to look for
- The square sets the ruined tower and modern chapel of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church against west-Berlin.
The full story
At its centre is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church with its damaged spire. History Breitscheidplatz is at the end of the former Kurfürstendamm bridle path of 1542 which led Elector Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg to his hunting grounds in the Grunewald forest. In 1889 the square was given the name Gutenbergplatz after Johannes Gutenberg, the designer of the printing press; in 1892 it was renamed Auguste-Viktoria-Platz in honour of the German Empress Augusta Viktoria of Schleswig-Holstein. Shortly after the square was laid out, Auguste-Viktoria's spouse Emperor Wilhelm II determined it as the site for the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in honour of his grandfather, Emperor Wilhelm I. The church, designed by royal architect Franz Schwechten, was a prime example of Romanesque Revival architecture.
Useful to know
- Visit in daylight for the clearest reading of the architecture and surrounding urban space.
- Combine the stop with nearby sights on foot, allowing extra time only for any separate interior component.