Martin-Luther-Platz is a square in central Düsseldorf, at the end of the Berliner Allee and a few steps from the Königsallee. It is dominated by the Johanneskirche, the city's largest Protestant church, and also holds two 19th-century monuments that have moved around the city, and a 1960s fountain with a slowly turning stainless steel ball.
Martin-Luther-Platz at a glance
- Where: in Stadtmitte, between the Berliner Allee, the Schadow-Arkaden shopping arcade and the northern end of the Königsallee.
- Created: as Königsplatz in the 19th century; the Johanneskirche was built on it from 1875 to 1881. The square was redesigned in the 2010s as part of the Kö-Bogen project.
- What it is today: a pedestrian square around the Johanneskirche, now a city church with a café, concerts and events.
- Highlights: the Johanneskirche, the Kaiser Wilhelm Monument, the Bismarck Monument and Friedrich Werthmann's ball fountain.
- Time needed: 20–30 minutes, including a look inside the church.
From Königsplatz to Martin-Luther-Platz
After the Rhineland became Prussian, Düsseldorf's Lutheran and Reformed congregations merged in the 1820s and began planning a single Protestant city church. In 1859 the king approved a site on what was then called Königsplatz. The design by Walter Kyllmann and Adolf Heyden was cut back for cost reasons, the foundation stone was laid in 1875, and the Johanneskirche was consecrated on 6 December 1881. The square was later renamed after Martin Luther.
An air raid on 12 June 1943 badly damaged the church, and after the war there was talk of demolishing it to make room for traffic. It was restored instead and reopened in March 1953. The square itself was reshaped in the 2010s with the Kö-Bogen development: the ball fountain was taken away in 2016 and returned in 2018, in a new spot between the church and the Schadow-Arkaden.
What to look for
- The Johanneskirche's tower, more than 85 metres high, built in the round-arched Rundbogenstil; inside, a café leads into the church itself.
- The two sandstone angels from 1878 in front of the west portal, one of them headless: they once sat on the church's gables, were rescued from the rubble after the war and returned here in 1994.
- The Kaiser Wilhelm Monument: a bronze equestrian statue of Wilhelm I by Carl Janssen, unveiled in 1896 on a different street and set up here in the late 1990s.
- The Bismarck Monument of 1899, by August Bauer and Johannes Röttger, with allegorical figures of a warrior and of industry on the pedestal.
- The Kugelbrunnen: Friedrich Werthmann's 1964 fountain, in which a stainless steel ball about 2.2 metres across slowly turns on the water.
Monuments on the move
Neither of the big monuments was made for this square. The Kaiser Wilhelm Monument first stood on today's Heinrich-Heine-Allee, was removed in 1961, spent years on another square and in storage during underground railway works, and only came to Martin-Luther-Platz in 1997/98. The Bismarck Monument also began on the old Alleestraße, in front of the Kunsthalle. Together they make the square a small open-air record of how Düsseldorf rearranged its imperial-era memorials.
Tips for your visit
- Step inside the Johanneskirche: the café at the entrance is usually open around midday and in the afternoon, and there are often concerts in the church.
- The tower is tall and the square fairly compact: step back as far as you can to fit the whole church into one photo.
- It is a working church: keep quiet during services and events.
- Combine it with a stroll down the Königsallee or a walk to the Hofgarten park, both just a few minutes away.
Nearby
- Königsallee: Düsseldorf's elegant shopping boulevard along a tree-lined canal, starting just south-west of the square.
- Kö-Bogen: the modern buildings by Daniel Libeskind and the green, hedge-covered Kö-Bogen II, a few minutes' walk away.
- Hofgarten: a large 18th-century park, just north of the Kö-Bogen.
- Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (K20): the state's art collection of the 20th century on Grabbeplatz, a walk of around ten minutes.
See Düsseldorf with World City Trail
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If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Düsseldorf.
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Facts checked in October 2026.