The 368m Fernsehturm sprouted upwards in the late ‘60s during a particularly turbulent period for East / West relations. Walter Ulbricht, the leader of the Socialist Unity Party, gave the go-ahead for the construction of the tower that had been conceived to stand as a symbol of Communist ideals. However, thanks to some shoddy engineering it failed to make the powerful political statement it was intended for. After construction was completed, the tower’s creators were famously displeased to find that the sun’s reflection projected a cross shaped symbol across its shiny stainless-steel dome. This unpredicted and unwanted optical symbol stood in strong opposition to the atheist ideals of the Communist government, immediately earning it the title of ‘the Pope’s revenge’.

These days the giant disco-ball-in-the-sky attracts over a millions visitors each year, not surprising really since you won’t find a better view of the city from anywhere else. On a clear day visibility can reach 42km allowing you to see the Hauptstadt in its entirety from atop of the fourth highest freestanding structure in Europe.

The dome itself houses a revolving restaurant which takes 30 minutes to do a full circle, but if the vertigo fails to make you feel queesy, then the prices of the drinks probably will.