Ruhmeshalle, Neo-Renaissance monument in Barmen, Germany.

Ruhmeshalle is a Neo-Renaissance building in Barmen, Wuppertal, constructed from Kordeler sandstone with a granite base and freestanding staircase. Its 53-meter front features a dominant columned portico, and the gable field and side-wing friezes, carved by sculptors Joseph Hammerschmidt, August Zurstrassen and Wilhelm Giesecke, depict scenes from Prussian history. The glass dome, modeled on the Berlin Reichstag, was not rebuilt after World War II.

The Barmer Kunstverein, founded in 1866, long sought exhibition rooms; in the Three Emperors' Year 1888 the city resolved to build a hall of fame for Wilhelm I and Friedrich III on land it provided, financed by Barmen's citizens. Architect Erdmann Hartig won the 1895 competition against 57 designs, and Kaiser Wilhelm II inaugurated the Kaiser-Wilhelm-und-Friedrich-Ruhmeshalle on 24 October 1900. The air raid of 29–30 January 1943 burned out the domed building and its collection; rebuilt, it reopened on 21 June 1958 as Haus der Jugend, without dome or imperial statues, and was listed as a monument in 1985.

The building's name changed from Kaiser-Wilhelm-und-Friedrich-Ruhmeshalle to Haus der Jugend when it reopened in 1958. Today it houses the Kunsthalle Barmen, the Live Club Barmen and a district library. The original Kaiser statues were destroyed after the war and are no longer present.

You can access the building's interior since it now functions as an open youth center and cultural venue with regular activities. Check the opening hours of its different spaces before planning your visit.

The 1895 competition drew 57 other designs, but the jury chose Erdmann Hartig, director of the Barmer Kunstgewerbeschule. His building echoed the Berlin Reichstag, including a glass dome on a square plan. On 31 December 1939 a turbine from the Barmen power station broke apart and its debris struck the hall several hundred metres away, damaging the dome without injuring anyone.