Berlin TV Tower (Fernsehturm)

The Fernsehturm, or Television Tower, is a broadcasting tower in central Berlin next to Alexanderplatz. It was built from 1965 to 1969 by East Germany as both a working transmitter and a symbol of power.

At 368 metres including its antenna, it is the tallest structure in Germany. When it opened it was the fourth-tallest freestanding structure in the world. Today it is a symbol of Berlin itself, visited by more than a million people a year. Visitors can book the tower for events as well as to look out. It sits in the Marien Quarter, in the district of Mitte, and can be seen from most of Berlin's suburbs.

What is inside?

The big sphere near the top holds a visitor platform at about 203 metres, with views up to 42 kilometres on a clear day. A rotating restaurant turns once every 30 minutes.

The tower's original height was 365 metres. A new antenna in 1997 brought it to 368 metres. The restaurant is called Sphere, and it is a few metres above the viewing floor.

The Pope's revenge

When the sun hits the tower's steel sphere, it reflects in the shape of a cross. The designers had not expected this. Berliners joked that it was "the Pope's revenge".

East Germany gave the tower monument status in 1979. After reunification it changed from a political symbol into a symbol of the whole city and appears in many films set in Berlin.

On the globe

Find it on the globe in central Berlin and zoom in to open its card.