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BERLIN — The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church has endured much indignity in its 110 years.
Its neo-Gothic design was ridiculed by critics. In World War II, it was bombed so severely by Allied planes that the remaining "broken tooth," its jagged main steeple, was preserved as an anti-war landmark. The Cold War era brought graffiti to its reduced flanks.
But perhaps nothing is more insulting than the continual spray of urine that hits its flanks today. Although there are public toilets a few steps away, pastor Sylvia Kekule says, the stonework constantly must be repaired.
And such assault is not confined to Berlin. From Paris to Prague, city leaders struggle to keep their historic structures dry and boulevards smelling sweet. In London, city officials are rushing to install more public toilets after evidence of damage to the foundation of the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square.
Certainly, Americans use the great outdoors and a few city walls for relief. The recent Adam Sandler film Big Daddy was advertised with a rear-view photograph of the star and his young charge availing themselves of a convenient wall.
But compared with Europe, it's a trickle. Europeans are less inhibited about their bodies than Americans, so there is little social stigma in unzipping when the need arises. In Berlin, it's not unusual to see a taxi driver suddenly pull over, get out, and relieve himself on the roadside while dozens of people witness the event as they drive by.
The practice crosses class lines: A scandal erupted last year at the World's Fair in Hanover when a videotape appeared to show Prince Ernst August of Germany, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, urinating on the Turkish pavilion.
Enforcement of local ordinances against such behavior is, well, spotty. Last year, the Berlin government cited 330 people for urinating in parks, underground train stations, at special events and monuments. About 100 of those, almost all men, were fined an average of about $140. Others received warnings. But that's just a drop in the bucket for a city where beer is a breakfast beverage.
Gert-Christian Jakobzik, spokesman for the Berlin city senate, says that the parks suffer worse than the buildings. Plants and animals, including humans, often find some areas too befouled.
Berlin's central park, the Tiergarten, is an annual casualty because of the music festival known as the Love Parade.
When it started 12 years ago, the parade attracted fewer than 200 people. But within a decade, it became the world's biggest celebration of "techno" dance-beat music, attracting more than 1 million revelers.
The crowd overwhelms city sanitary facilities — if people bother with them at all — and the aftermath is too much for some local citizens. A group calling itself Association for the Protection of the Tiergarten estimates that 26,000 gallons of urine were deposited in the park last year — and tried to block this year's event.
The group succeeded only in delaying it for a week, to July 21, because city leaders feared the loss of an estimated $114 million in tourist spending. The date change cut the crowd down to about 850,000. Although there are no new estimates, damage was reduced.
Public officials across Europe say making public toilets more available is the most important step. In London, the Westminster City Council, which runs the downtown area including the National Gallery, is installing more toilets in problem areas. "Much of the West End is now blighted by this type of ... antisocial behavior," the council said in a recent statement.
Another strategy: making public toilets more attractive. Several European cities have installed sophisticated toilets in convenient sidewalk locations. The toilets, which usually require a coin payment, automatically clean themselves after use.
The British Toilet Association, a group backed by the tourism industry, recently created the Loo of the Year award. It rates cleanliness, décor, cost, disabled access and odor, among other criteria. But because many lavatories have closed, there is now only one public toilet for about every 10,000 people in England, the group says.
Amsterdam, however, is among the European cities that have installed outdoor public urinals. It recently displayed a new model with a floral motif and a curtain to offer a measure of privacy.
"I think they should have them in America," says Liz Tuckwell, an American who works in Amsterdam for the comedy troupe Boom Chicago. "I think that they should also make a ladies' version."
Its neo-Gothic design was ridiculed by critics. In World War II, it was bombed so severely by Allied planes that the remaining "broken tooth," its jagged main steeple, was preserved as an anti-war landmark. The Cold War era brought graffiti to its reduced flanks.
But perhaps nothing is more insulting than the continual spray of urine that hits its flanks today. Although there are public toilets a few steps away, pastor Sylvia Kekule says, the stonework constantly must be repaired.
And such assault is not confined to Berlin. From Paris to Prague, city leaders struggle to keep their historic structures dry and boulevards smelling sweet. In London, city officials are rushing to install more public toilets after evidence of damage to the foundation of the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square.
Certainly, Americans use the great outdoors and a few city walls for relief. The recent Adam Sandler film Big Daddy was advertised with a rear-view photograph of the star and his young charge availing themselves of a convenient wall.
But compared with Europe, it's a trickle. Europeans are less inhibited about their bodies than Americans, so there is little social stigma in unzipping when the need arises. In Berlin, it's not unusual to see a taxi driver suddenly pull over, get out, and relieve himself on the roadside while dozens of people witness the event as they drive by.
The practice crosses class lines: A scandal erupted last year at the World's Fair in Hanover when a videotape appeared to show Prince Ernst August of Germany, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, urinating on the Turkish pavilion.
Enforcement of local ordinances against such behavior is, well, spotty. Last year, the Berlin government cited 330 people for urinating in parks, underground train stations, at special events and monuments. About 100 of those, almost all men, were fined an average of about $140. Others received warnings. But that's just a drop in the bucket for a city where beer is a breakfast beverage.
Gert-Christian Jakobzik, spokesman for the Berlin city senate, says that the parks suffer worse than the buildings. Plants and animals, including humans, often find some areas too befouled.
Berlin's central park, the Tiergarten, is an annual casualty because of the music festival known as the Love Parade.
When it started 12 years ago, the parade attracted fewer than 200 people. But within a decade, it became the world's biggest celebration of "techno" dance-beat music, attracting more than 1 million revelers.
The crowd overwhelms city sanitary facilities — if people bother with them at all — and the aftermath is too much for some local citizens. A group calling itself Association for the Protection of the Tiergarten estimates that 26,000 gallons of urine were deposited in the park last year — and tried to block this year's event.
The group succeeded only in delaying it for a week, to July 21, because city leaders feared the loss of an estimated $114 million in tourist spending. The date change cut the crowd down to about 850,000. Although there are no new estimates, damage was reduced.
Public officials across Europe say making public toilets more available is the most important step. In London, the Westminster City Council, which runs the downtown area including the National Gallery, is installing more toilets in problem areas. "Much of the West End is now blighted by this type of ... antisocial behavior," the council said in a recent statement.
Another strategy: making public toilets more attractive. Several European cities have installed sophisticated toilets in convenient sidewalk locations. The toilets, which usually require a coin payment, automatically clean themselves after use.
The British Toilet Association, a group backed by the tourism industry, recently created the Loo of the Year award. It rates cleanliness, décor, cost, disabled access and odor, among other criteria. But because many lavatories have closed, there is now only one public toilet for about every 10,000 people in England, the group says.
Amsterdam, however, is among the European cities that have installed outdoor public urinals. It recently displayed a new model with a floral motif and a curtain to offer a measure of privacy.
"I think they should have them in America," says Liz Tuckwell, an American who works in Amsterdam for the comedy troupe Boom Chicago. "I think that they should also make a ladies' version."
