AquaDom

Update: On December 16, 2022, the aquarium burst, flooding the hotel and nearby streets. The hotel remains closed until further notice.

Touted as the largest cylindrical fish tank in the world—25 meters high and 12 meters in diameter—the Aquadom is a sight to behold. It contains over 1 million liters of water, a coral reef, and is home to nearly 2,600 fish of more than 100 different species.

A tank of this caliber cannot be simply viewed from the ground, and with the luxury and style the Radisson hotels pride themselves in, they’ve solved this problem in a grand way. An elevator takes guests up through the inside of the tank for a full 360-degree view of the fish as well as the divers who care for them and the tank on a daily basis. The AquaDom was built by the Union Investment Real Estate GmbH at a cost of 13 million Euros for the aquarium alone. Biological management lies with the Berlin Society for Large Aquariums.

On December 16, 2022, the massive suspended aquarium burst. While the exact cause of the break is not yet known, according to a BBC report, there is speculation that freezing overnight temperatures caused a crack in the aquarium’s glass walls, which were then unable to withstand the weight of the water inside. Two people were injured by glass from the explosion, and the hotel and surrounding streets were filled with water and debris. Though rescues are being attempted, many of the fish that were inside the aquarium have died.