Famous for its 75-meter-high dome with its old bell from 1532, Berlin Cathedral Church was completed in 1905 on the site of an earlier cathedral dating from the time of Frederick the Great. Built in the New Baroque style, the building – the largest church in Berlin – is divided into three main sections: the Memorial Church, the Baptismal and Nuptial Church, and the Parish Church. After decades of painstaking work to repair war damage, the church has been returned to its former glory, and highlights of a visit include the Imperial Staircase, decorated with bronze cornices and 13 tempera paintings by Berlin landscape painter Albert Hertel in 1905, and the Imperial Gallery with its views of the area below the dome.

Also of note is the Hohenzollern Crypt containing nearly 100 sarcophagi, coffins, and monuments from the 16th to 20th centuries, including those of the Great Elector and his wife Dorothea, and Frederick I and his wife Sophie Charlotte. Try to time your visit for one of the cathedral’s many concerts or music services, and be sure to climb the 270 steps to the Dome for superb views over Museum Island.