History
In 1964, Walter Ulbricht, leader of the Socialist Unity Party which governed East Germany, decided to allow the construction of a television tower on Alexanderplatz, modeled on the Fernsehturm Stuttgart and the Soviets' first satellite, the Sputnik. The TV tower had several architects. Its former design was done by Hermann Henselmann, and Jörg Streitparth. It was built by the East German architects Fritz Dieter, Günter Franke and Werner Ahrendt between 1965-69. Walter Herzog, Gerhard Kosel and Herbert Aust later also took part in the planning. The construction plan though emerged already in the 1950s. The tower was actually needed for transmitting radio and TV programmes. At the same time it was intended as symbol and as a show of the GDR's strength. After some discussions regarding the tower's location it was decided to build the Fernsehturm next to Alexanderplatz, which is situated in the centre of Berlin. Construction began on August 4, 1965. After four years of construction, the Fernsehturm began test broadcasts on October 3, 1969, and it was officially inaugurated four days later on the GDR's National Day. It is among the best known sights in Berlin, and has around a million visitors every year from all over the world.
Read more about this topic: Fernsehturm Berlin
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