Berliner Fernsehturm: Bird's eye view of Berlin's past and future

Berliner Fernsehturm or Berlin TV Tower is an iconic landmark of the German capital and a must-see for any tourist for its unique experiences.

- Varsha Singh

For a European capital, Berlin is surprisingly low-rise, with most buildings less than a few floors high. Thus wherever one may be in Berlin, one is never too far from Berliner Fernsehturm or Berlin TV Tower, the iconic building that has been standing guard over the German capital for well over 50 years.

Yet, it is only when you step into Alexandreplatz, the most popular cultural and touristic hub of Berlin, that you realise exactly how tall it is. Standing at the foot of the tower, I craned my neck, almost falling backwards, in trying to see the top of the building that stood in front of me.

I could barely manage to get a glimpse of the gigantic ball sitting atop the tower. Soaring over 203 m above the ground, the Berlin TV Tower was built by the then-communist government of German Democratic Republic or East Germany, precisely for this purpose, broadcast communist propaganda and showcase the industrial and scientific prowess of the East Bloc at the peak of Cold War.