Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, widely known as the Holocaust Memorial, is Germany's central place of remembrance for the six million Jews killed in the Shoah. Just south of the Brandenburg Gate, a field of gray concrete slabs rises and falls across a whole city block, with an underground exhibition beneath it. It is free, open around the clock, and one of the most powerful things to experience in Berlin.

Why it matters

The memorial took more than 15 years of public debate to create. The idea was raised in 1988, and in June 1999 the German parliament voted to build it to a design by New York architect Peter Eisenman. It was inaugurated on May 10, 2005, sixty years after the end of World War II, and drew more than 3.5 million visitors in its first year.

What makes it unusual is its location and scale: a nation building a monument to its own crime, on prime land in the heart of its capital, a few steps from the Reichstag. There are no names, symbols, or inscriptions on the field itself. The meaning is meant to emerge from walking through it.

What to see

The Field of Stelae. Roughly 2,700 concrete blocks stand in a tight grid on about 19,000 square meters (around 4.7 acres). They share the same footprint but vary in height from ground level to about 15 feet (4.7 m), while the ground beneath dips in waves. As you walk toward the center, the blocks tower over you, street noise fades, and other visitors appear and vanish in the narrow aisles. Many people describe it as disorienting, which is the point.

The Information Center (Ort der Information). Below the southeastern corner is a free exhibition that gives the abstract field a human face: letters and diary entries written by victims, the stories of individual Jewish families from across Europe, and a room where names and short biographies of the murdered are read aloud. Computer terminals give access to databases of millions of victims' names, including records from Yad Vashem.

Tickets and opening hours

As of October 2026, according to the foundation that runs the site:

• Field of Stelae: open 24 hours, free.
• Information Center: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm, last entry 5:15 pm, closed Mondays. Admission is free.
• Audio guide for the exhibition: 3 euros, available in 10 languages.
• Free public guided walks of the field are offered; groups can request tours through the foundation's booking form.

Entry to the exhibition is through a security check, so expect a short line on weekends and in summer. Weekday mornings are usually quietest.

How to get there

The memorial is in Mitte, the historic center of Berlin. The entrance to the Information Center is at Cora-Berliner-Strasse 1.

• Train: The nearest station is Brandenburger Tor (S-Bahn and U-Bahn), a few minutes on foot. Potsdamer Platz is also close.
• From the airport: From BER airport, trains reach central Berlin in well under an hour; change to the S-Bahn or U-Bahn for Brandenburger Tor or Potsdamer Platz.
• On foot: It's about a five-minute walk from the Brandenburg Gate, so it fits easily into a walking tour of the government district.

Berlin's local trains and buses are covered by the Deutschlandticket if you have one. There is no visitor parking.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, and give it more time than a photo stop. Walk into the center of the field, then go downstairs to the exhibition; together that takes about one and a half to two hours. Please treat it as a memorial: climbing or jumping on the blocks, picnicking, and loud behavior are not allowed. Photography is permitted, but think about what is appropriate.

Accessibility is partial. Some aisles are wheelchair accessible, though the ground is sloped and uneven, and visitors who need the elevator to the exhibition are asked to contact the foundation in advance.

Nearby

The Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag building, and the Tiergarten park are all next door. In the Tiergarten you'll also find the memorials to the homosexuals persecuted under Nazism and to the murdered Sinti and Roma of Europe. The Topography of Terror documentation center is about a 20-minute walk away.