Why Europe Has So Few Skyscrapers

From that place, you can see all the park and the river. If suddenly there was a bunch of 490-ft-tall buildings standing around, this gorgeous view would be totally ruined. You wouldn’t see the iconic avenue. And forget the river. Instead, there are buildings.

Like Lisbon, many other cities in Europe don’t want skyscrapers to spoil their cultural heritage. Take Germany. Most of their skyscrapers are in Frankfurt. In other cities, they’d rather protect and restore the buildings that are already standing. And even if, let’s say, Berlin wanted to home some skyscrapers, it wouldn’t be able to do it in any case. Its soil just wouldn’t allow it. Put a skyscraper there, and it’ll sink! Constructing a foundation for a very tall building in Berlin would mean investing a lot of money. The soil’s too sandy and soft.