Some 500 relatives of the dead were among the 1,400-strong congregation at Cologne cathedral.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was joined by ministers from France and Spain, and executives from Germanwings and its parent company Lufthansa.

Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz is accused of deliberately flying the plane into the French Alps, killing all 150 on board

The two-hour service included tributes from relatives, dignitaries and members of the emergency services.

German President Joachim Gauck told the congregation that the country was still in "enormous shock".

"We face not only sadness and pain but also the horror of peering into the abyss inside the human soul, even inside our human existence itself," Mr Gauck said.

A sister of one of the victims, named only as Sarah, told mourners: "Let love be stronger than the desperation in the midst of sorrow."

Organisers placed 150 candles inside the church, one for every person who died, including Lubitz.

Asked about the decision to include the co-pilot, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, Archbishop of Cologne, said: "It's not for us to judge."

Lubitz's parents were invited to the memorial but chose not to attend.

Spanish Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz told the congregation: "We must try to fill this hole with love and hope".