The Landmark TV Tower

THE TV TOWER IS A LANDMARK OF THE CITY OF BERLIN

The Berlin TV tower/s amazing appearance and its construction are an outstanding engineering achievement.  For tourists like us who want to walk EVERYWHERE around the city, it's central location at Alexanderplatz, a bahnhof transportation hub, makes it easy to stay focussed i.e. not get lost!   The enthusiasm for technology and space are noticeable in the architecture; in cross-section, the TV tower resembles a space rocket.  And it is REALLY TALL.

The original design of the slender, upward striving tower comes from the East German architect Hermann Henselmann.  The then president of the Academy of Architecture, Gerhard Kosel, developed ideas for the design - and suggested the colours of the sphere.  Only one method was applicable for the construction of the tower: the so-called climbing construction. By which the internal steel frame grew a little faster than the outer concrete shaft that was built around the steel frame. The tower shaft tapers from a 16 m diameter to 9 m and is subdivided by partial stories into five sections.  

Did we climb it?  No - there were always long lines plus we were always on our way to the north, south, east or west of the tower - but I certainly appreciated the focus it lent to my continual touring of the city.  

Far Away View walking by the 1300 meter Mauer 

Getting closer - on an overcast day - no escape from the 

ever present, ever moving construction cranes.

View approaching Alexanderplatz - from the
former central city government building.

View from a city park on one of our treks

As seen through very dirty windows of the bahnhof while waiting for a train.  

View from across the street

View of tower from downtown (photo by DW)