ENThe Martin Luther Hospital in Berlin, Germany — in German Martin-Luther-Krankenhaus — is a church-run general hospital in the west of the city, in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district.
Below: its location and operator, its departments and certified centres, how not to confuse it with namesakes in other German towns, and how it fits among Berlin’s hospitals for a patient from abroad.
Location and Operator of Martin Luther Hospital
Martin Luther Hospital stands in the west of Berlin, in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district, and is run by Johannesstift Diakonie, a Protestant non-profit organisation. The hospital gives its location as Berlin-Wilmersdorf; the area is green, with many lakes. Its legal notice (Impressum) names the operator as Johannesstift Diakonie gAG, a non-profit stock corporation, and the hospital calls itself a diaconal institution, part of the Protestant church’s social work. It is also an academic teaching hospital of Charité, where medical students do placements and their practical year.
For patients, a church-run hospital is an ordinary part of the German hospital system. German hospitals have public, non-profit and private owners, and, as the federal health portal explains, non-profit owners include church groups. Patients of every faith are treated here. Pastoral care is open to everyone regardless of origin or world view, but it is only an offer: you see a chaplain only if you wish.
Departments and Specialist Centres
Martin Luther Hospital has medical, surgical and other departments, and several of its centres are certified by professional societies. Medicine covers internal medicine, gastroenterology, cardiology and oncology. Surgeons operate on the abdominal organs, treat vascular disease and cover orthopaedics and trauma surgery, plus plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery including hand surgery. Other specialties are gynaecology, obstetrics and newborn medicine, anaesthesia and intensive care, chronic pain treatment, radiology and nuclear medicine, and physiotherapy; the emergency department takes acutely ill and injured patients.
The gynaecological cancer centre is certified by the German Cancer Society (DKG), meaning it meets the society’s defined quality standards for cancer care. For the breast cancer centre, certification means that diagnosis and treatment follow the guidelines of the German Society for Senology and the DKG. The joint replacement centre holds EndoCert certification from the German Society for Orthopaedics and Orthopaedic Surgery, which demands a high degree of specialisation, competence and experience. The gynaecology department is certified as a clinical and scientific endometriosis centre, so endometriosis diagnosis and treatment there meet strict criteria. The round-the-clock chest pain unit is certified under the German Cardiac Society’s system, which aims to have life-threatening heart and vascular conditions such as a heart attack recognised and treated early. The cardiac arrest centre, for patients after cardiac arrest, is certified to the criteria of the same society and the German Resuscitation Council. In the geriatric trauma centre (AltersTraumaZentrum DGU), trauma surgeons and geriatricians treat older patients together.
The hospital lists no separate international office. By its own account, some staff can talk to patients in English, Russian, Arabic and several other languages, and interpreting services are available. So before the trip, correspondence usually runs through a coordinator, and an interpreter joins the consultations.
Other Hospitals Named After Martin Luther
Martin Luther Hospital is not unique to Berlin: hospitals of the same name exist in other German towns. In Bochum, for example, the Martin-Luther-Krankenhaus in the Wattenscheid district belongs to the Catholic hospital group Katholisches Klinikum Bochum.
So check the city, the full name and the street address in every letter and referral before booking travel. On its website the Berlin hospital writes its name as Martin Luther Krankenhaus; its address is Caspar-Theyß-Straße 27–31, 14193 Berlin.
Martin Luther Hospital or Another Berlin Hospital
Depending on the diagnosis, another Berlin hospital may suit you better; see the overview of hospitals in Berlin. Charité Berlin is the city’s university hospital. Vivantes is Berlin’s municipal hospital group; one of its hospitals is Vivantes Friedrichshain. Helios Berlin-Buch is a large hospital campus in the north-east of the city. The DRK hospitals in Berlin, run by the German Red Cross, are spread over several districts.
The choice depends on the diagnosis and the department you need, not on a hospital’s fame. Complex and rare conditions usually belong to a university hospital, with specialists in many narrow fields; common illnesses and planned operations are also treated at general hospitals.
Frequently asked questions
Is Martin Luther Hospital a university hospital?
No, it is an academic teaching hospital of Charité, not a university hospital. Medical students do placements and their practical year here, but Berlin’s university hospital is Charité itself, where the most complex and rare cases usually go. For common conditions, the right department matters more than university status.
Does Martin Luther Hospital accept patients from abroad?
Yes. The hospital says that more and more patients from around the world put their trust in it. For planned treatment it needs your medical reports and test results in German and then decides whether it can admit you. It lists no separate international office, so a coordinator usually handles correspondence.
Do you have to be Protestant to be treated at Martin Luther Hospital?
No. The hospital is run by a Protestant organisation, but patients of every faith are treated here, and religion plays no part in treatment. Pastoral care is open to everyone regardless of origin or world view; it is a free and confidential offer, not an obligation.
Does Martin Luther Hospital have an emergency department?
Yes. It is an acute care and accident hospital: the emergency department takes people who suddenly fall ill or are injured, and the chest pain unit works around the clock. Planned treatment from abroad is agreed with the hospital in advance, based on translated medical documents.
How AlenMed Arranges Treatment in Berlin
Martin Luther Hospital is not an AlenMed partner hospital, but if you want treatment there, we will send it an enquiry with your medical reports translated into German. The hospital itself decides on admission.
If the specialty matters more than a particular hospital, we send your documents to partner hospitals in Berlin with the right department and obtain a cost estimate. You pay the hospital directly. The company office is in Munich, with partner hospitals across Germany; how arranging treatment in Germany works is explained on a separate page.
This material is for reference only and is not an offer. The treatment plan is decided by a doctor at a face-to-face consultation.