Typical Berlin: Top ten landmarks to visit

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, the main dome of Berlin Cathedral is the largest 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.

Two landmarks are united in this photo. At 368 meters, the television tower is the tallest building in Germany. In the sphere there is a viewing platform and a revolving restaurant. The 24 time zones of the world clock also rotate and display the time on all continents. The distinctive clock is a popular meeting place on Alexanderplatz.

Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichstrasse was probably the most famous border crossing between East and West Berlin during the Cold War and Berlin Wall era. At one time Soviet and American tanks confronted each other here, but now Berlin tourists can be photographed here — for a small fee, of course.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, artists from all over the world came to Berlin and painted a 1.3-kilometer-long 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 Victory Column (the Siegessäule). It was built from 60 cannons, which were taken during the German unification wars 1864-1871. On top of it towers the goddess of victory, Victoria, who is popularly known as "Goldelse" — which translated would be "golden Elsa."

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 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 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.