Fernsehturm Über Alles

The term über alles is allowed when it comes to the Berlin tv tower. First of all it literally stands above all in Berlin and its vicinity, and then the spire is simply the coolest tv tower on the planet. Currently it´s only No. 16 in the list of the world´s tallest tv towers, but the well proportioned good looks make it stand out. Designed and built by East German engineers between 1965 and 1969, it has a very high recognition value with the distinctive steel sphere slightly above the middle of the 368 meters (roughly 1210 ft.). The tower was erected right in the middle of the city and can be seen from all parts of town. Even though I´m only a Neo-Berliner, there is a certain feeling of warmth and gratitude when seeing the structure upon returning to the city from a time of absence - home sweet home.

Historic photo of 2005: In the foreground you can see the dismantling of the Palace of the Republic, the seat of parliament of East Germany. The sphere of the tower was decorated in the look of a football/soccer ball in preparation for the 2006 World Championship in Germany.

Picture of the same spot nine years later. The Palace of the Republic is replaced by the Palace of whatever -

the new structure will resemble the old Berlin Palace and will house the Humboldt Forum.

View from Rykestrasse in Prenzlauer Berg, with watertower of Knaackstrasse.

View from a roof in Choriner Strasse, Prenzlauer Berg. Red city hall to the right.

The radar tower on the former Tempelhof Airport seems to dwarf the tv tower.

The radar was first used by the US Air Force as an eye into the east during

the Cold War. It is now used by the German Army.

View from the Julius Tower of far away Spandau Citadel. Siemens City in the foreground.

View from Karl-Marx-Allee in Friedrichshain.

Photographed from atop Victory Column with many landmarks in view: from left - the Reichstag, Radisson Park Inn, International Trade Centre, TV Tower, Berlin Cathedral, Red City Hall, Humboldt Forum (Berlin Palace - below crane), twin spires of St Nicholas´Church, tower of Old City Hall.

Tropical view with one of the pointy ends of the TV Towers´base structure.

View from Holocaust Memorial.

View from the Western Harbor in Moabit.

View from Treptow with legs of the Molecule Men and Eastern Harbor in Friedrichshain.

Again from the roof in Choriner Strasse in Prenzlauer Berg.

View from the Moabit side of the Spree River with the Chancellory

(Executive Office of Chancellor Angela Merkel) in foreground.

View from the tower of the Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse in Wedding.

A stretch of the original Berlin Wall Strip in foreground.

A dusky view from Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg.

A view between highrises at Axel-Springer-Strasse, separating

Mitte (left) from Kreuzberg (right).

View caught from a tourist cruiser on the Spree River in Mitte.

Awkward architecture and the tower, Dircksenstrasse, Mitte.

Upper part of the tv tower during May 9th Victory gathering at the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park, Treptow.

View from the roof of the Reichstag building. Landmarks as in the pic from atop Victory Column, just from a different angle.

The birds.

The iconic Alexanderhaus from 1930 is one of the few buildings at Alexanderplatz that survived the war.

Berlin Gallery