The Berlin TV-Tower, more commonly known as the "Fernsehturm" is not surprisingly Germanys
tallest building with its 368m and the second tallest building in Europe, only beaten by
Moscows Ostankino Tower.
The tower was constructed between 1965 -1969 in the former East Berlin, but the planning
for a TV-tower started much earlier.
During the 1950ies the East German government, also known as DDR, had plans to construct
a new TV-tower outside of Berlin to do all their transmitting.
The place chosen for this tower was the Müggelberg Mountains.
However, it would become evident that planning wasn't their greatest strength.
After having constructed several neighboring buildings by the mountain, they realized that
placing the tower at that spot would cause problems for the planned nearby airport.
Instead, the idea of building the tower inside Berlin was born.
The DDR saw this opportunity to create both a useful transmitter and at the same time
create an architectural symbol.
The 1950ies was the decade when the race to space started.
The competitors in this race were the US on one side and the Soviet Union on the other.
With the Soviets launch of the first satellite, the "Sputnik", DDR got inspiration for their
TV-towers design.
The leader of the Socialist Unity Party, Walter Ulbricht, ordered the tower to be build on
Alexanderplatz.
The building was designed by Hermann Henselmann and the result is the lean, tall, rocket-like
building we see today.
The sphere itself resembles very much how the soviet satellite looked.
The end result was a fully functional TV-tower but also a status symbol for East Germany.
The tower itself consist of three main parts; the base, the sphere and the antenna.
The 118m tall antenna is transmitting a vast number of radio- and TV channels on a daily
basis.
The 4800t heavy sphere covers seven storeys, two of which are open to the public.
On one level is the Tele-Café; a café and restaurant.
One the other level is an observation platform.
The reigning space-craze at that time also shows in the interior of the tower.
Visitors generally say the inferior is very "Sixties sci-fi", so don't be surprised if
you meet the Star Trek crew around the corner.
When inside the sphere, you will be between 203 and 207m above the ground.
The view is outstanding.
The TV-tower gives you a view of more or less the whole city.
On a clear day, the view is over 40km.
Not only does it give you a great view by putting you over 200m above the ground, the
sphere is also moving.
The sphere is slowly rotating around its own axel, making it the best observation point
possible.
The sphere rotates 2 laps every hour.
Inside the rocket-like base of the tower, there are two elevators.
A ride up takes around 40 seconds.
A long time one might say, but it's certainly faster than taking the 986-step staircase!
One interesting phenomenon occurs when the sun shines.
Due to its sphere shape and the material used on the outside of the sphere, when the sun
shines on the sphere, a crucifix-like symbol will appear on the pinnacle of the tower.
This is known as "the Pope's revenge".
The name was given by West Berlins, as the DDR and the Soviet Union in particular, was
a secular state with no preferred religion.
During the DDR era, many church institutions were under suppression.
While the phenomenon "the Pope's Revenge" was amusing to the West Berliners, it was
certainly an embarrassment for the DDR government.
The building has many unofficial names.
One of them is "St.Walter", based on the man who gave order to build the tower and "the
Pope's revenge" phenomenon.
Due to its special design, the tower has gotten many other names such as; "The toothpick"
and "The TV-Asparagus".
After the German reunification, the tower became a symbol of not only the east side,
but for the entire country.
Today, around one million people visit the TV-tower every year.