The GDR authorities opened the television tower on Alexanderplatz on October 3, 1969. At 368 meters (1,207 ft), it was visible from afar and meant to bear witness to the "triumph of communism." Now the tower is one of the most popular landmarks in the city. Every year about 1 million visitors enjoy the magnificent view of a borderless and reunited Berlin from up there.

When the Brandenburg Gate was inaugurated in 1791, it was only one of many city gates, admittedly a particularly beautiful one. Today it is probably the most famous landmark of the city. The gate was surrounded by the Berlin Wall for almost 30 years. When the Wall fell on November 9, 1989, images of the Brandenburg Gate were seen around the world. Today it is symbolic of German unity.

Magnificent and sublime — this is how the Reichstag building stands in the heart of Berlin. During the German Empire, members of parliament met here. Since 1999, it has been the seat of the German Bundestag. The 23-meter-high (75.5 ft) glass dome of the Reichstag is a major tourist attraction.

At 98 meters high (321.5 ft), the main dome of Berlin Cathedral is the tallest in the capital. It offers a fantastic view of the historic center of Berlin, but to enjoy it, visitors have to climb 270 steps. Also worth seeing is the Hohenzollern Crypt, which contains around 100 coffins of the Prussian royal family.

Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichstrasse was probably the most famous border crossing between East and West Berlin during the Cold War era. Soviet and American tanks confronted each other here, but now it's a tourist hotspot.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, artists from all over the world came to Berlin and painted a 1.3-kilometer-long (4,265 ft) section of the wall along the Spree River — and the longest open-air gallery in the world was created. Some of the motifs have become photographic icons, such as the Brezhnev-Honecker "Bruderkuss" or "Brotherly Kiss" by Russian artist Dimitrji Vrubel.

In the middle of Tiergarten and surrounded by traffic stands the 60-meter-high (197 ft) Victory Column (Siegessäule). It was decorated with 60 cannons, which were taken during the German unification wars 1864-1871. On top of it sits the goddess of victory, Victoria, who is popularly known as "Goldelse" ("Golden Lizzy").

The old church tower stands as a reminder of the destruction during the Second World War; the new tower recalls the effort of reconstruction. The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (Gedächtniskirche) at Breitscheidplatz is one of the landmarks of West Berlin.

The New Synagogue on Oranienburger Strasse was inaugurated in 1866 and was regarded as the largest and most magnificent in Germany. It burned down during the Second World War. In 1995 the reconstructed synagogue was consecrated a second time. Since then, the golden dome has once again shaped the silhouette of Berlin.

These gentlemen are probably the newest landmarks of Berlin. In 1999, the 30-meter-high (98 ft) sculpture by American sculptor Jonathan Borofsky was placed in the Spree River between the districts of Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain and Treptow as a symbol of the reunited city.

Berlin's most visited memorial for years has been the Nazi Documentation Center not far from Potsdamer Platz. In 2019, 1.3 million visitors came here to find out about the extent of crimes committed by the Nazis throughout Europe. From 1933 to 1945, the Gestapo and SS, the most important authorities of Nazi terror, were located here.

Where did the Berlin Wall stand? How did the Berliners live in the divided city from 1961 to 1989? The Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse is the second most popular place for visitors. It provides information on the background of the construction of the Berlin Wall and reminds visitors of the tragic fates of refugees trying to escape to the West.

The mysterious Egyptian Queen Nefertiti is one of the most famous art treasures in the world and one of the outstanding exhibits in the Neues Museum. The building is part of Berlin's Museum Island and houses not only treasures from the time of the Pharaohs, but also from the Stone and Bronze Ages.

It is a treasure trove of ancient, Islamic and Middle Eastern art. Although the Pergamon Altar, the heart of the building, is not currently on display due to construction work, the museum still ranks third among the most visited in Berlin. The Ishtar Gate and the processional street of Babylon are still freely accessible (photo). It is one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World".

The German Historical Museum on the boulevard Unter den Linden promises a journey through 2,000 years of German history. The spectrum ranges from Charlemagne's conquests to Luther's theses all the way to German reunification. The museum's collection comprises around 1 million objects. But don't worry; there are always only about 7,000 actually on display.

The Brachiosaurus is the largest skeleton of a dinosaur in the world with a height of 13.27 meters (43.5 ft) and a favorite with visitors of the Natural History Museum. The collection was founded in 1810 as part of the Berlin University and today comprises some 30 million objects.

Architect Daniel Libeskind chose a rather dramatic architecture: Seen from above, the building looks like a broken Star of David. The Jewish Museum in Berlin-Kreuzberg provides an overview of 1,700 years of German-Jewish history.

A Rosinenbomber (Raisin Bomber), which is what Berliners called the Western Allied (American and British) aircraft that brought in supplies by air to West Berlin during the Soviet Berlin Blockade in 1948/1949, is what the museum near Potsdamer Platz is all about. The exhibits include windmills, steam locomotives, ships and the world's first computer, built in 1936 by Berlin inventor Konrad Zuse.

What was life like in the former East Germany, what did people's everyday life feel and look like? The DDR Museum in Berlin-Mitte aims to convey an impression of this. Visitors can, for example, sit in the East-German Trabant car, stroll through an originally furnished prefabricated concrete apartment or take a look at a Stasi secret police surveillance room.

In tenth place in the Berlin Museum ranking is a masterpiece of Prussian rococo art: the former summer palace of Sophie Charlotte, the first Queen of Prussia. Magnificent festival halls and living rooms, precious porcelains, paintings, silverware and the Prussian crown insignia can be admired here.

The Reichstag dome, created by celebrated architect Sir Norman Foster, is a must-see for Berlin tourists. At the top, the view from a height of 40 meters (about 130 feet) stretches over the government quarter and Brandenburg Gate. The glass dome was the express wish of the Bundestag. The plenary hall sits just below, symbolically allowing the people to monitor their members of parliament.

Whether relaxing, demonstrating or guerrilla knitting (photo), the lawn in front of the Reichstag provides plenty of room for ideas and signals to the elected members of parliament who shape German politics. Since 1999, the Reichstag Building in the center of Berlin has been the seat of the German Bundestag.

The Reichstag has stood on the banks of the Spree since 1894. Architect Paul Wallot created this first German parliament building when there was still a monarchy: the emperor ruled, and deputies in parliament — the Reichstag — debated. At the behest of parliamentarians, the inscription "Dem deutschen Volke" ("For the German People") was emblazoned on the side of the building in 1916.

The second window balcony to the left of the main portal became the real cradle of parliamentary democracy on November 9, 1918: it was here that Social Democrat politician Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the republic when the German Empire collapsed.

The Reichstag Building burned down on February 27-28, 1933. Then Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler instrumentalized the fire to impose the Nazi dictatorship with terror and violence. Communist politician Marinus van der Lubbe was convicted of arson. From then on, the Reichstag Building stood empty. Only parts of the cellar were used by the Charite Clinic during World War II as a maternity ward.

From afar, the row of upright, black cast-iron slabs in front of the Reichstag Building are reminiscent of the narrow grave slabs of Jewish cemeteries. If you take a closer look, Dieter Appelt's artwork reveals the names, dates and places of death of those Reichstag deputies who were murdered by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.

The Reichstag is not only a symbol for the beginning, but also for the end of Nazi rule. Autographs and messages from Soviet soldiers who occupied the Reichstag on May 2, 1945 are still on the walls. As a sign of victory, they hoisted the red flag on the roof of the Reichstag. This marked the end of World War II in Berlin.

This speech by Berlin Mayor Ernst Reuter in front of the ruins of the Reichstag Building, destroyed in the war, moved people. In 1948, Reuter appealed to the world not to surrender West Berlin to the Soviet Union. And he impressed the occupying Allied powers US, Great Britain and France. The result: the Berlin Airlift, which supplied West Berlin by plane for over a year.

When the Berlin Wall went up in 1961, the Reichstag was located in West Berlin, right on the border. Just behind, a tarmac strip now marks the course of the wall. To the south, the Spree River formed the second border to East Berlin. People repeatedly used the river to try to flee to the West. Since the 1970s, white crosses near the Reichstag have been a reminder of those who died in the attempt.

Following the opening of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, the parliament building was once again in the center of Berlin. Four months later, excavators arrived to demolish the wall at the Reichstag. From October 2 to 3, 1990, hundreds of thousands of people euphorically celebrated German reunification in front of the Reichstag Building.

Ninety climbers, 100,000 square meters of silvery tarpaulins and 5 million enchanted visitors — the wrapping of the Reichstag Building in the summer of 1995 is considered the most spectacular work by artist couple Christo and Jeanne-Claude. From then on everything seemed possible, including the choice to once again make the Reichstag the seat of a democratically elected German parliament.

During a four-year conversion period, architect Norman Foster gave the Reichstag Building not only a modern interior, but also its spectacular dome. The Reichstag has been Germany's official seat of parliament since September 1999. Here, members of parliament discuss and decide on the political future of Germany in the presence of thousands of visitors in the upper galleries.