How many steps to the top of Berliner Fernsehturm?
The 986 steps inside the concrete shaft are an emergency route; the observation sphere and its revolving restaurant are reached by a lift that takes 40 seconds. Staff have occasionally had to use the stairs during lift failures, which is a memorable descent. At 368 m it remains the tallest structure in Germany. The stainless-steel sphere produces a cross-shaped reflection in sunlight, nicknamed the Pope's Revenge in the GDR period.
The numbers
- Steps
- 986
- Reaches
- the sphere at 203 m, via the emergency staircase — no public access
- Public access
- Not climbable by the public
- Where
- Berlin, Germany
- Height climbed
- 203 m — 666 ft
- Average rise per step
- 206 mm
This count describes a stairwell the public cannot use. Published step figures for famous structures very often refer to service or emergency stairs — worth knowing before planning a visit around one.
Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches.
How it compares
Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.
| Structure | Steps | Reaches | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tham Suea) | 1,237 | the summit shrine and golden Buddha on the limestone peak | Open to climb |
| Sky Tower | 1,103 | the Sky Deck at 220 m | Restricted — events or permit only |
| Gateway Arch | 1,076 | the observation area at the top of the arch, via the emergency stairs — no public access | Not climbable by the public |
| Berliner Fernsehturm | 986 | the sphere at 203 m, via the emergency staircase — no public access | Not climbable by the public |
| Washington Monument | 897 | the observation level at 152 m — stairs closed to the public | Not climbable by the public |
| Space Needle | 848 | the observation deck at 158 m | Restricted — events or permit only |
| Ulm Minster | 768 | the highest viewing platform at 143 m, in the world's tallest church steeple | Open to climb |
Common questions
- How many steps to the top of Berliner Fernsehturm?
- 986, reaching the sphere at 203 m, via the emergency staircase — no public access.
- Can the public climb Berliner Fernsehturm?
- Not climbable by the public.
- How high is that climb?
- 203 m, about 666 ft, which averages 206 mm per step.
Related pages
- Towers All 17 here
- How many steps up Eiffel Tower? 674 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Empire State Building? 1,576 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up Eiffel Tower (summit)? 1,665 steps · not climbable by the public
- How many steps up Burj Khalifa? 2,909 steps · not climbable by the public
- How many steps up CN Tower? 1,776 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up Tokyo Tower? 600 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Taipei 101? 2,046 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up One World Trade Center? 2,226 steps · restricted — events or permit only
Sources
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)