The TV tower is Berlin's most recognizable landmark, a symbol of the capital. It must be visited for three reasons: it is the tallest building in the capital; it offers stunning views of the city; upstairs there is a revolving restaurant for romantics.
Berlin TV Tower (Berliner Fernsehturm), photo by Arnaud Martinez
The Berlin TV Tower (Berliner Fernsehturm) is located in the very center of the city near Alexanderplatz. This is not only the tallest building in Germany, the TV tower is one of the four tallest structures in Europe after the Ostankino TV tower (540 m), Kiev (385 m) and Riga (368.5 m). The height of the Berlin TV tower is 368 meters.
Building
Its construction was started on August 4, 1965. It soon became clear that the construction would require 200 million marks, which is 6 times the planned amount, so the head and chief ideologist of the construction, Heinrich Kozel, was removed.
TV Tower - a visiting card of Berlin, photo by Jean Claude Castor
The TV tower pipe was poured with concrete using a sliding formwork. The skeleton of the ball was assembled on the ground, and then with the help of a crane installed on top of the pipe, they were lifted up by fragments and mounted. This boom-down crane is still at the top of the structure.
To install the antenna, a crane was also used, but of a smaller size, which was lifted onto the antenna itself and, using overall elements of 4 meters, mounted it. The length of the antenna reaches 118 meters. It is designed in such a way that when a strong wind deviates from its axis by a maximum of 80 cm. In winter cold, to prevent icing of the antenna, it is sometimes heated with electricity.
The construction of the Berlin TV tower took 4 years. It was inaugurated on October 3, 1969.
Daddy's revenge
Cross on the spherical part of the tower, photo by Marc Wohlzufrieden
Interestingly, when the rays of the sun fall on the spherical part of the tower, made of stainless steel, an image of the cross appears. The townspeople called this phenomenon "Pope’s revenge", hinting that the rights of the church in the GDR are significantly infringed, and the ideology of atheism prevails among the representatives of the socialist authorities. In connection with this phenomenon, the tower architect had to give explanations to the state security organs of Germany.
See Berlin
Bar "Bar 203", restaurant "Sphere" and an observation deck, photo by Dirk A.
The Berlin TV Tower is open to the public and receives up to a million tourists every year. At an altitude of 203 m there is an observation deck and the highest bar "Bar 203". Higher at 4 m is the restaurant "Sphere", which makes a full turn within half an hour. Here you combine excellent cuisine with stunning views of Berlin.
Working hours
The TV tower is open daily:
from March to October 09:00 - 0:00,
from November to February 10:00 - 0:00.
Tickets
Full - € 13,
children 4-16 years old - € 8.50.
Having bought a ticket at the box office does not mean that you will immediately go up to the tower. Usually there are a lot of people. Therefore, there is an SMS alert. SMS will be sent to you in 30 minutes, then you can safely go to the tower.
I advise you to purchase tickets online on the official website or on the spot in the machine.
There are 4 types of tickets (cost from € 13 to € 23):
- early bird from the opening,
- night owl (Late Night) from 21:30 to 23:00,
- speed inspection (Fast View),
- VIP.
See the current ticket prices on the website.
TV tower near Alexanderplatz Bahnhof, photo Theocharis Kalamaras
How to get there
Take the U2, U5, U8 metro lines, the S5, S7, S75 train, the M4, M5, M6 tram, the 248, 100, 200, M4, M48, N5, N65, TXL buses to the Alexanderplatz stop.
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