Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom)

In front of you is Berlin Cathedral, the city's most grandiose Protestant church. Its size is no accident: Emperor William II wanted a church that could stand comparison with St. Peter's in Rome.

1A cathedral without a bishop

Although everyone calls it the “Dom”, the cathedral, it has never been a bishop's seat. It was the Hohenzollerns' court church, next to their palace. Other churches stood here before, among them a classicist one remodelled by Schinkel. William II had it torn down and commissioned Julius Raschdorff to build the present church, constructed between 1894 and 1905 in a style blending Renaissance and baroque.

2War and rebuilding

A bombing raid in 1944 pierced the dome, and the interior was left exposed to the rain for years. East Germany, with little interest in an imperial and religious symbol, delayed its restoration. Work began in 1975, and the main church reopened in 1993. Today's dome is somewhat simpler and lower than the original.

Beneath your feet, in the crypt, lie nearly a hundred sarcophagi and coffins of the Hohenzollern family, from the 16th century to the early 20th.

3Up and down

If you go inside, you can climb to the dome's outer gallery, with views over the whole of Museum Island, and go down to the crypt. Inside, the gilded sarcophagi of King Frederick I and his wife, Queen Sophie Charlotte, designed by Andreas Schlüter, stand out.

4What to look for

• The great green dome and the four corner towers.
• The mosaics and statues on the main façade.
• The dome gallery: if you see people leaning out, that's the viewpoint.