The special reason for building the Kaiserhalle in this form as a self-supporting domed hall was the need for the builder Wilhelm Bell to provide evidence that local building materials such as lime, lava sand and trass can also be used for extreme loads.
At a time before the turn of the century, when cement had started its triumphal march and the trench mining in the Brohl valley continued to decline, such proof seemed necessary.
The exciting building history begins with the non-approval of the building plans by the authorities.
This is followed by rapid construction in just three months without a permit, ultimately obtaining the building permit from the administrative court and the glamorous inauguration on September 4, 1896, the Sedan day.
After long years of glamorous celebrations, a decline began that would almost have come to an end when it was used as a garage.
This was followed by the barely hoped-for rescue through a restoration between 1980 and 1984, in which the Burgbrohl Citizens' Association did a great job.

The Kaiserhalle is designed as a ball and theater hall and rises on a quarry stone foundation in a hemispherical shape with a height of 10 m and a diameter of 20 m. The enclosed space without ancillary buildings is over 3000 cbm. The dome construction consists of an increasingly thinner (50 to 30 cm) lightweight concrete shell.
In the history of construction there is no previous example of the use of this then completely new combination of building materials for vaulting such a large area without any reinforcement.
Since a static calculation could not be carried out at that time, the builder had to rely on experience and feeling when dimensioning all components.
Only a calculation carried out later by the Technical University of Berlin confirmed the measures taken.
In the upper third, the dome consists of lime-bound pumice stones, presumably because of the difficulties encountered during shuttering.
At the top there is an opening with a diameter of 4.50 m, which is held by an anchored iron ring.
The only natural light source for the interior is located on it.

The interior has a round dance floor and seats over 500 guests.