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Aug 5, 2008 1:39 pm US/Central
Berlin Church Destroyed During WWII Needs Repairs
BERLIN (AP) ―
The jagged ruin of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church -- one of former West Berlin's most famous postwar sites -- badly needs money for restoration, campaigners said Tuesday.
The bombing of Berlin during World War II destroyed the spire of the church on Kurfuerstendamm, the main shopping boulevard of capitalist West Berlin. The uneven silhouette of the crushed spire earned it the local nickname the "Hollow Tooth."
A campaign to restore the spire was launched after experts found cracks in the stone facade of the old tower and loose joints in the structure, as well as damage to the interior walls.
Some $700,000 has been raised since the end of last year, said Kathrin Dost, a spokeswoman for the Kaiserwetter agency, the group coordinating the campaign.
But it's not enough: The cost of the renovations are estimated at $5.1 million, and there has been no word yet of a contribution from the city, she said.
Dost said plans originally called for work to start several months ago, but the lack of funds may push the project back to next year.
Experts are concerned the damage could get worse in winter if water seeps into the cracks and turns to ice.
"The damage that has been found gives rise to the fear that pieces of the facade could break loose and fall from a great height," the Rev. Martin Germer was quoted as saying on the parish's Web site.
"There is no acute danger yet for passers-by, but no one can say how the next few winters will go and when it will become the case that danger arises from the possibility of pieces falling off."
The church, named after Emperor William I, was completed in 1895, with the belfry and spire towering over the boulevard at a height of 370 feet.
In the 1960s, a new, modern church and belfry designed by the architect Egon Eiermann later were built around the damaged spire.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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