berlin

Around Town – Charlottenburg & Spandau
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Ehrenhalle in the Messegelände
Funkturm and
Messegelände
The 150-m (492-ft) high Funkturm
(TV tower), reminiscent of the
Eiffel Tower in Paris, is one of the
landmarks of Berlin that can be
seen from afar. Built in 1924 to
plans by Heinrich Straumer, it
served as an aerial and as an airtraffic
control tower. The viewing
platform at 125 m (410 ft) provides
magnificent views, while
the restaurant, situated at 55 m
(180 ft), overlooks the oldest part
of the complex, the exhibition
centre and the surrounding pavillions.
The giant building in the
The Berliner Funkturm
The History of
Charlottenburg
The magnificent Charlottenburger
Rathaus (town hall) on
Otto-Suhr-Allee is a reminder of
the time when this district of
200,000 people was an
independent town.
Charlottenburg, named after the
eponymous palace, arose in 1705
from the medieval settlement of
Lietzow. Towards the end of the
19th century, Charlottenburg –
then Prussia’s wealthiest town –
enjoyed a meteoric rise following
the construction of the
Westend colony of villas and of
Kurfürstendamm. Thanks to its
numerous theatres, the opera
and the Technical University,
the district developed into
Berlin’s west end during
the 1920s.
east is the Hall of Honour built
to designs by Richard Ermisch in
1936, in the colossal Fascist
architectural style.
On the opposite side rises the
shiny silver ICC, the International
Congress Centrum, built in 1975–9
by Ralf Schüler and Ursulina
Schüler-Witte. It is still considered
one of the most advanced
conference centres in the world,
with 80 rooms for more than
5,000 visitors. Berlin’s vast exhibition
grounds are among the
largest in the world, covering an
area of 160,000 sq m (40 acres).
These play host to, among others,
Grüne Woche (green week,
an agricultural fair), Internationale
Tourismusbörse (international
tourism fair) and Internationale
Funkausstellung (international TV
fair). d Messedamm 22 • Map A4/5
• 11am–9pm Mon, 10am–11pm Tue–Sun
• (030) 30 38 29 96 • Admission charge
Newton Sammlung
Helmut Newton (1931–2004),
the world famous photographer,