Broadcasting Religion
The giant Fernsehturm peeks out from behind the Berliner Dom.
The Berliner Dom is as much a symbol of Imperial extravagance as it is of Christianity, built to replace a small imperial chapel on the Museuminsel in the middle of the River Spree.
Completed in 1905, to a design by Julius Racshdorff, it was opened in the presence of Kaiser Wilhelm II and is unusual for a Protestant church, with its lavishly decorated interior.
Much of that decoration is in tribute to the Hohenzollern family, with the sarcophagi of more than 90 members of the Imperial dynasty within its walls.
The 74-metre high copper dome can be climbed by the public for views of the Museum Island and around and is decorated inside with mosaics of the Beatitudes, by Anton von Werner.
The church was badly damaged by Allied bombing during the Second World War and restoration did not begin until 1974 – it has still not been completed.
The Fernsehturm is the most prominent building in the whole of Berlin, visible day and night from just about everywhere in the city.
Standing 1,188ft tall, the giant silver spindle (known at the Telespargel – toothpick – by locals), with a sparking silver sphere revolving around its middle, was built by the East German government in 1969 as a symbol of their power, as well as a functioning transmitter.
Now a tourist attraction, visitors take the lift up the centre of the tower to the viewing platform in the sphere at 666ft or the revolving restaurant above, from where there are great views over the entire city.
Broadcasting Religion
The giant Fernsehturm peeks out from behind the Berliner Dom.
The Berliner Dom is as much a symbol of Imperial extravagance as it is of Christianity, built to replace a small imperial chapel on the Museuminsel in the middle of the River Spree.
Completed in 1905, to a design by Julius Racshdorff, it was opened in the presence of Kaiser Wilhelm II and is unusual for a Protestant church, with its lavishly decorated interior.
Much of that decoration is in tribute to the Hohenzollern family, with the sarcophagi of more than 90 members of the Imperial dynasty within its walls.
The 74-metre high copper dome can be climbed by the public for views of the Museum Island and around and is decorated inside with mosaics of the Beatitudes, by Anton von Werner.
The church was badly damaged by Allied bombing during the Second World War and restoration did not begin until 1974 – it has still not been completed.
The Fernsehturm is the most prominent building in the whole of Berlin, visible day and night from just about everywhere in the city.
Standing 1,188ft tall, the giant silver spindle (known at the Telespargel – toothpick – by locals), with a sparking silver sphere revolving around its middle, was built by the East German government in 1969 as a symbol of their power, as well as a functioning transmitter.
Now a tourist attraction, visitors take the lift up the centre of the tower to the viewing platform in the sphere at 666ft or the revolving restaurant above, from where there are great views over the entire city.