Berlin Television Tower

Restaurant Berliner Fernsehturm – Foto: katrin bernsteiner

Bar Berliner Fernsehturm – Foto: katrin bernsteiner

Berliner Fernsehturm – Foto: katrin bernsteiner

Anyone who has ever been to Berlin has seen it. Indeed, it is hard to imagine not being able to take notice of it. No wonder - the Berlin Television Tower, which is 368 metres tall, is the highest publicly accessible building in Europe. But it’s even more than that.

The Berlin Television Tower, or the Berliner Fernsehturm as it is known to Berliners, was inaugurated on 3 October 1969 just before the 20th anniversary of the GDR. For Walter Ulbricht, who was the State Council Chairman of the GDR at the time, it was one of the most important symbols demonstrating the superiority of socialist societies. The construction of the Berlin Television Tower showed that a better future was being built in the East.

But while the GDR has long since been history, the Berlin Television Tower still stands - and it is now accepted as a landmark for all of Germany. Every year more than a million visitors from 86 countries go up 200 metres to the observational level and there take in a breathtaking view of the bus-tling and constantly changing city. And so it comes as no surprise that many of those who come back down end up purchasing posters, t-shirts or cushions showcasing the Berlin Television Tower, which has become a cool symbol of the united city of Berlin.