A landmark achievement by designer Erich Mendelsohn, the Einsteinturm’s construction ended in 1924 and is a building that art historians consider a primary example of the architectural expressionism movement of the era. The Einsteinturm is located in Potsdam—no more than a half-hour train trip to the southwest of Berlin and the city best known for being a former seat of the historic German kingdom of Prussia. In the mid-19th century, Potsdam became a globally important site for scientific scholarship, and the ‘Einstein Tower’ belongs to this legacy.

Its harmonic design and smooth, white exterior with rounded edges are not just ornamental, but rather belie the building’s functionality as a solar observatory and—until the second World War—a prominent institute of scientific research. Today it is part of the Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam and used for scientific climate observation. Tours of the inside available by appointment.