Fernsehturm (TV Tower), Berlin

An eyesore and a half, and the most enduring architectural legacy of Communism, the 'TV Tower' was built, supposedly, to help East Berlin telecom authorities transmit ... three black-and-white television stations. It's no mystery that the real purpose of the inescapably huge tower was to spy on West Berlin.

The Television Tower is another Berlins Landmark. The Fernsehturm's observation platform and revolving cafe - worth a visit for a view over Berlin. On a (rare) clear day you can see as far as 40km.

Open: 9-23.00; DM7.

Sitting in the space needle rotating high above the city of Berlin. 368 meters high. It was built at the end of the 60's. For more information about this tower ( Der Berliner Fernsehturm) or even higher towers see these web pages
www.great-towers.com
www.die-wolkenkratzer.de/
www.skyscrapers.com

Go on top of the Fernsehturm at Alexanderplatz. You get a great view on Berlin from here. It's amazing to see the Soviet-Style Houses in the east and the backyards in the west!

The Fernsehturm - once the most famous landmark of East Berlin you could see all over the west - is one of the highest structures in Europe (368 metres). There's a revolving restaurant called Telecafé at a height of 207 metres, the viewing platform is at 203 metres.

This massive TV tower in Alexanderplatz was built to symbolize the greatness of Communism. Oooo... Unfortunately for the East Germans, the Swedes who built the thing didn't do such a great job with their engineering. You see, when the sun shines upon it, it forms a vertical and horizontal reflection across the face of the sphere. The result: a cross, not a symbol the atheistic East Germans wanted. The people call it "the Pope's Revenge."

View Berlin from the top of the Televison Tower.
At the bottom of the windows, going entirely around the tower, they have placed a photo and description of different landmarks that can be viewed from that point in the tower.

The day we went to the TV tower was very overcast but I did enjoy the view anyway. I believe it only cost 10DM.

Fernsehturm is Berlin's TV tower. I'm not particularly fond of tall buildings, especially when not properly parallelepiped-shaped. But this exceptional building can be seen from all Berlin, west and east, and lets you have a good view on the city. Let's hope it's not as cloudy as when I went, though!

The Fernsehturm, the highest building in the city, is one of Berlin's biggest attractions. Its total height is 368 meters: the viewing platform is at a height of 203 metres.
It was built according to the plans of a team of architects from 1965–69, with the assistance of a group of experts from Sweden. The Fernsehturm, member of the World Federation of Great Towers, consists of a 250m-high reinforced concrete shaft topped by a stainless steel sphere, which is divided into seven stories. One of them is home to the Telecafé, which offers a breath-taking view of the city. The café, which rotates on its own axis, takes 30 minutes to go round. The tip of the tower is formed by a 118 meter-long television antenna. A pavilion-style construction around the foot of the tower was constructed from 1969–72 according to the plans of the architects Walter Herzog and Heinz Aust; it is divided into three sections with pointed, multi-pitch roofs.