Europaturm
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The Europaturm ("Tower of Europe") is a high telecommunications tower in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.


History

Designed by architect Erwin Heinle, the tower's construction began in 1974. At its completion five years later, it became the tallest free-standing structure in the
Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
. With its height of , Europaturm became Germany's second tallest structure, after the
Fernsehturm Berlin The Berliner Fernsehturm or Fernsehturm Berlin ( en, Berlin Television Tower) is a television tower in central Berlin, Germany. Located in the Marien quarter (''Marienviertel''), close to Alexanderplatz in the locality and district of Mitte, ...
(). Even without the height of the antenna at its top, the building is over high, which makes it Germany's tallest structure by roof level. Its base, at thick, is the widest of any similar structure in the world. The top of the tower can turn and provides a panoramic view of the Rhine Main area. For a number of years, the upper part of the structure housed a restaurant and discothèque, but since 1999, the Europaturm has been closed to the public. In September, 2004, the antenna at the top of the tower was replaced, increasing its total height to . The six-ton antenna was lifted to the top in two parts by helicopter.


Broadcast capability

With the new antenna, the tower became capable of broadcasting high-definition digital television signals using the
DVB-T DVB-T, short for Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial, is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in Singapore in Febr ...
standard (which is the European counterpart to the ATSC digital standard used in the United States). It is capable of broadcasting four channels per transmitter, for a total of twenty-four channels, at 100 kilowatts per channel. It is capable of receiving satellite broadcasts and redistributing them via cable or terrestrial broadcasts. The tower is owned and operated by T-Systems, a subsidiary of
Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (; short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was ...
. At night, it is illuminated with
magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish-red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blue. I ...
lighting, the company's corporate colours. Among Frankfurt's residents, the tower is colloquially known as the "''Ginnemer Spaschel''" (
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
for "The Ginnheimer
Asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...
", or "''Ginnheimer Spargel''" in standard German), even though it is located in the Bockenheim district rather than close by
Ginnheim Ginnheim is a quarter of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the ''Ortsbezirk A ''Stadtbezirk'' (also called ''Ortsbezirk'' in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate) is an administrative division in Germany, which is part of a larger city. It is ...
. It is also simply called the "''Fernsehturm''" ("Television Tower").


Elevator test tower

Since around 2002 a small elevator company has used the tower for testing and demonstrations.Press release 06.11.2002 Schindler presents new high-performance elevator


See also

*
List of towers Several extant building fulfill the engineering definition of a tower: "a tall human structure, always taller than it is wide, for public or regular operational access by humans, but not for living in or office work, and are ''self-supporting' ...
*
List of tallest freestanding structures in the world This is a list of tallest freestanding structures in the world past and present. To be freestanding a structure must not be supported by guy wires, the sea or other types of support. It therefore does not include guyed masts, partially guyed tow ...


References


External links


Europaturm in SKYLINE ATLAS
*
Europaturm at Building Database Phorio
{{coord, 50, 8, 7, N, 8, 39, 17, E, display=title Towers completed in 1979 Observation towers in Hesse Communication towers in Germany Buildings and structures in Frankfurt Restaurant towers 1979 establishments in West Germany