Television Tower, Berlin, Germany Photo Print

"The Television Tower, Berlin, Germany" by Catherine Sherman. The Television Tower -- the Fernsehturn -- was constructed between 1965 and 1969 by the government of the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, as both a functional broadcasting facility and a symbol of Communist power. It is the tallest structure in Germany at 1,207 feet (368 meters) including antenna and the third-tallest structure in the European Union. When the sun shines on the Fernsehturm's tiled stainless-steel dome, the sun's reflection sometimes looks like a Greek cross. Berliners have nicknamed the luminous cross "Rache des Papstes," or the "Pope's Revenge," because the communist government had removed crosses from East Berlin's churches. In the photo in the top left of the collage, two crosses appear overhead as seen from Berlin's Unter den Linden Avenue -- one atop the Berlin Cathedral Dome and the other is "The Pope's Revenge" on the tiled stainless steel ball of the Fernsehturm (Television Tower). The Berlin Cathedral, also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental German Protestant church and dynastic tomb (House of Hohenzollern) on the Museum Island in central Berlin. It is the largest Protestant church in Germany and one of the most important dynastic tombs in Europe. In addition to church services, the cathedral is used for state ceremonies, concerts and other events. Top Right in the collage is St. Mary's Church near the Television Tower. Bottom right is the Television Tower's location next to Alexanderplatz in the city's Marien Quarter, part of the district of Mitte, visible across most suburban districts of Berlin. Bottom center is the television tower looming over a street crisscrossed with electrical wires. Bottom left is the television tower standing guard over a busy boulevard.