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Garnisonkirche Tower Falls Short of Visitor Targets in Probe Year

Ongoing talks to restructure a multimillion-euro loan coincide with intensified marketing efforts to bolster the tower’s role in democracy education.

Overview

  • Visitor numbers one year after reopening have failed to meet the pre-opening estimate of 80,000 to 90,000 annually, leading the foundation to classify 2025 as a probe year.
  • The permanent exhibition “Glaube, Macht und Militär” and ground-floor chapel programming have received strong praise for their critical engagement with Prussian and Nazi-era history.
  • Stiftung Garnisonkirche has requested deferred repayments on its multimillion-euro loan and is negotiating new terms with three church lenders ahead of an end-September deadline.
  • Foundation leaders maintain they are not insolvent and are pursuing potential institutional funding from the city of Potsdam or the state of Brandenburg.
  • The site’s reconstruction continues to stir debate over its militaristic past even as it seeks to fulfill President Steinmeier’s vision of becoming a place for democratic education.