The Pope's Revenge - Berlin, Germany
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Bernd das Brot Team
N 52° 31.247 E 013° 24.568
33U E 392084 N 5820152
A giant cross shining from the Berlin TV tower
Waymark Code: WMT9J0
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date Posted: 10/19/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member monkeys4ever
Views: 65
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In the 1960s, East Germany's communist government ordered the costruction of tall buildings in all major cities to create "new socialist landmarks" and to upstage churches as the defining structures of city sky lines.

As a result, East Germany's lead architect Hermann Henselmann designed a number of tall, distinctive buildings, among them the Jen Tower in Jena, the City Tower in Leipzig and - most prominently - the Berlin TV Tower.

The Berlin Cathedral and the TV Tower

In order to build the TV Tower, a lot of Berlin's old inner city was demolished. Consequently, as a result of World War II bombings and of the following demolition of the remains, five of the six medieval churches originally located in the center of Berlin were lost forever.

Berlin's citizen, upset about the demolition of the antique city center by the communist government, soon noticed an unexpected side effect of the tiled stainless steel dome: When the sun was shining, its reflection appeared in the form of a cross all over East Germany's socialist Metropolis.

Berliner's, knowing that the cross would annoy their rulers tremendously, soon nicknamed the TV Tower Saint Walter (after communist leader Walter Ulbricht). The reflection itself was soon known as The Pope's Revenge.

Its worldwide fame was acknowledged by US President Ronald Reagan, who referred to it in his "Tear down this wall" speech on 12 June 1987:

... they erected a secular structure: the television tower at Alexander Platz. Virtually ever since, the authorities have been working to correct what they view as the tower’s one major flaw, treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind. Yet even today when the Sun strikes that sphere – that sphere that towers over all Berlin – the light makes the sign of the cross.

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What's the Real Story?:
There is a simple physical explanation for the optical phenomenon, and pretty much everybody knows that. However, the animosity between communism and religion made it not only a popular anti-communist joke but also part of Berlin's urban legends.

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