5. COLOGNE CATHEDRAL
The towering Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) - the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Mary - is located on
the banks of the Rhine and is undoubtedly Cologne's most impressive landmark. This masterpiece of
High Gothic architecture, one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, was begun in 1248 and was the
most ambitious building project of the Middle Ages.
As imposing as its façade, its magnificent interior covers an area of 6,166 square meters and boasts
56 huge pillars. Above the high altar is the Reliquary of the Three Kings, a 12th-century work of art in
gold that was designed by Nicholas of Verdun to house the relics of the Three Kings brought here
from Milan.
Other highlights include the panoramic views from the South Towers, the 12th- and 13th-century
stained glass in the Three Kings Chapel, and the Treasury with its many precious objects, all of which
survived largely intact after WWII. For some of the best vistas over the city and river, climb the 533
steps to the viewing platform in the South Tower. (A small entrance fee is required.)
6. BERLINER FERNSEHTURM
In the early 1950s, the German Democratic Republic planned to build a new facility in Berlin intended
primarily for the broadcast of GDR television programmes. Initially, a location in the Müggelbergen
hills in the southeast of Berlin was considered. But after the outbuildings had been completed, the
Ministry of the Interior decided to build the broadcasting station in the approach corridor of the
planned Schönefeld airport.
In the sixties, the GDR government arranged to have the TV Tower built at its current location, not
least to demonstrate the strength and efficiency of the socialist system. The original design of the
slender Tower soaring skywards was created by the GDR architect Hermann Henselmann. The sphere
of the TV Tower was intended to remind people of the Soviet sputnik satellites and was to light up
red, the colour of socialism. Only one method was considered for the construction of the tower: the
so-called ‘climbing formwork’. The inner steel scaffold grew a step faster than the outer concrete
shaft, which was erected around the steel scaffold.
Mounting the ball at a height of 200 m was a challenge for engineers. First, the supporting steel
frame of the sphere was prefabricated on the ground. The segments were lifted up with cranes and
attached to the ring-shaped platform that forms the final section of the concrete shaft.
Today, the TV Tower shapes the silhouette of the German capital – like the Brandenburg Gate, it has
become a symbol of reunified Germany