Charlottenburg: Breitscheidplatz

Breitscheidplatz is one of Berlin’s most prominent urban squares, known for the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, retail and tourism. At Breitscheidplatz, the local character comes from the relationship between the open square, its surrounding façades, paths and the streets that feed into it. The everyday rhythm of Breitscheidplatz is shaped by changes in seating, greenery, pedestrian movement and the uses at the edges of the space. Breitscheidplatz lies in the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, about 5.3 km west of central Berlin. Breitscheidplatz merges gradually into Schaperstraße and Ernst-Reuter-Platz; building scale, street activity and open space change before any clear boundary is felt. The character of Breitscheidplatz is clearest along everyday routes between homes, public space and nearby destinations. This gives Breitscheidplatz a distinctive quality: a clear public focus for the surrounding streets.