Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

Built, bombed, damaged, bombed, destroyed... Berlin's Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church has had a somewhat rocky time of it since the original foundation stone was laid in 1891. The original building lasted 52 years, before the RAF bombed it in 1943. It survived, but not for long. Another raid two years later reduced the building to near rubble. Rising from the ashes of war along with the rest of Berlin, a new church was rebuilt and the old shell was made safe to serve as a reminder of the war. The broken spire is an image that will be familiar to anyone who has bought a postage stamp in Germany, while the new church with its 22,000 panes of stained glass is a monument to hope.