The Berliner Fernsehturm or TV Tower is located on Alexanderplatz in Berlin. It was built when Alexanderplatz was in East Berlin and was a prestige project by the East German government.
The TV Tower is almost always visible when you walk around Berlin and is a great way to find out where you are in relation to it. This view is from the Kreuzberg Monument Southwest of The Fernsehturm. The twin church towers are those of the Swedish Viktoriakirche in Kreuzberg.
The TV Tower is very impressive: 368 meters (402 yards) high, with the observation deck at 203 meters (222 yards). The unfortunate thing about the design is that there are only two elevators, and you have to wait in line for quite a while to get on one of them and take the 40 second ride up to the observation deck and the Telecafé restaurant. If you were to choose the stairs there are 986 steps to conquer. The antenna itself is 118 meters (129 yards) high, weighs 245 tons and actually has tiny steps up its sides to the top for maintenance purposes.
It was former SED leader Walther Ulbricht, the leader of the East German Communist Party, who in 1964 decided that a TV Tower should be built on Alexanderplatz.
The TV Tower was built in 4 years and 5 months and taken into use on October 3, 1969. In SED language the TV Tower was a "Sozialistisches Höhendominante", a Socialist Vertical Dominant. In 1995 and 1996, after the German re-unification in 1990, the inside of the ball or sphere was renovated, and the air conditioning and fire protection systems were upgraded to Western standards.
When Germany hosted the Soccer World Cup in 2006, the TV Tower ball was painted as a magenta and silver colored soccer ball. On this picture you can also see the work boom that can move around the bottom half of the ball on the outside and let the crew do maintenance and clean windows.
Between 1 and 1.2 million visitors a year visit the TV Tower and go up to the observation deck. If you have a choice, go when there are fewer tourists, and preferably when the air is cold and there is bright sunlight with no clouds - that way you can see the farthest and get the most out of the amazing view of Berlin from the TV Tower.
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