Fernsehturm Stuttgart ( en, Stuttgart TV Tower) is a
telecommunications tower
Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-made ...
in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, Germany. It was the first telecommunications tower in the world constructed from
reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
, and it is the prototype for many such towers worldwide. Although controversial at first, it quickly became a well known
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
of Stuttgart and a tourist attraction.
Location
The tower is located on the hill ''
Hoher Bopser'' (elevation 483 meters) in the southern Stuttgart borough of Degerloch.
From the observation decks there is a view of Stuttgart, from the forests and vineyards in and around Stuttgart to the
Swabian Jura
The Swabian Jura (german: Schwäbische Alb , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of ...
and the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
.
History
The tower's construction was controversial – critics opposed the new building method and its costs; a simple 200-meter antenna array would have cost just 200,000 DM. Construction began on 10 January 1954 and continued for 20 months. This made it the first telecom tower in the world built with reinforced concrete. The construction cost was 4.2 million DM. Revenues from visitors reached that sum within five years. The tower was placed in service on 5 February 1956 by
Süddeutscher Rundfunk (today
Südwestrundfunk
Südwestrundfunk (SWR; ''Southwest Broadcasting'') is a regional public broadcasting corporation serving the southwest of Germany , specifically the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The corporation has main offices ...
– SWR).
It was part of the
German state visit of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in May 1965.
The tower reached its current height of after the antenna was extended from October 1965 to December 1965.
Specifications
* Engineer:
Fritz Leonhardt
Fritz Leonhardt (12 July 1909 – 30 December 1999) was a German structural engineer who made major contributions to 20th-century bridge engineering, especially in the development of cable-stayed bridges. His book ''Bridges: Aesthetics and Design ...
* Altitude: Foot of tower above sea level
* Overall height to the antenna point:
* Height of upper observation deck:
* Height of lower observation deck:
* Diameter of foundation:
* Total weight of tower: approximately 3,000 tons
* Weight of foundation: approximately 1,500 tons
* Speed of elevators:
* Panorama Café on a platform of the tower basket
* Maximum diameter of tower basket:
Broadcasting
The tower is still known as ''Fernsehturm'' but today only broadcasts several public
FM radio
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
stations. Transmission of the
ARD TV network's analogue service stopped in 2006. The digital television services have moved to nearby ''
Fernmeldeturm Stuttgart
The Stuttgarter Fernmeldeturm (Stuttgart Telecommunication Tower) is a reinforced concrete tower for radio relay, FM, and TV transmitting services at Stuttgart-Frauenkopf in Germany (Geographical coordinates: ). Unlike the Stuttgart TV tower, it ...
'', which also broadcasts private FM radio stations in the area.
Air traffic warning lights
The tower carries beside the conventional red air traffic warning lights three rotating xenon lamps similar to those used on lighthouses just above the observation deck.
Public access
On 27 March 2013 the tower was closed to the public because of a review of
fire safety regulations.
The tower was reopened on 30 January 2016 with a refurbished entrance, shop area and new, optimised fire safety precautions.
Gallery
Stuttgart TV tower at night.jpg, Fernsehturm Stuttgart after dark
Fernsehturm stuttgart plaque.jpg, Commemorative plaque at the tower's base
Fundamentfuss-Stuttgarter-Fernsehturm.png, Foundation of Fernsehturm Stuttgart
Informationstafel Fernsehturm Stuttgart26082018.png, Stations transmitted from the tower
Stuttgarter Fernsehturm en.svg, Tower basket
Fernsehturm Stuttgart and Full Moon Summer 2013 06.jpg, The tower in 2013, without interior illumination due to the closure to the general public.
StuttgartTVTowerObservationDeck.jpg, Observation deck
See also
*
Fernmeldeturm Mannheim
The Fernmeldeturm Mannheim is a concrete telecommunication tower with an observation deck in Mannheim, Germany. It was designed by the architects Heinle, Wischer und Partner and built from 1973 and 1975. It contains transmission facilities for ...
*
Rheinturm Düsseldorf
The Rheinturm (; 'Rhine Tower') is a concrete telecommunications tower in Düsseldorf, capital of the federal state (''Bundesland'') of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Construction commenced in 1979 and finished in 1981. The Rheinturm carries a ...
*
Sentech Tower
The Sentech Tower, previously named the Albert Hertzog Tower and commonly known as the Brixton Tower, is a concrete television tower in the Brixton suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, near the top of the Brixton Ridge. It is a well-known and ...
,
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
*
Donauturm
The Donauturm ( en, Danube Tower) is a tower in Vienna, the tallest structure in Austria at , and is the 68th tallest tower in the world. Opening in April 1964, the tower is located near the north bank of the Danube River in the district of ...
,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
*
CN Tower
The CN Tower (french: Tour CN) is a concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Built on the former Railway Lands, it was completed in 1976. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway c ...
,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
*
Macau Tower
The Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Center (; pt, Centro de Convenções e Entretenimento da Torre de Macau), also known as Macau Tower (; pt, Torre de Macau) , is a tower located in Sé, Macau. The tower measures 338 m (1,109 ft ...
*
Sky Tower (Auckland)
The Sky Tower is a telecommunications and observation tower in Auckland, New Zealand. Located at the corner of Victoria and Federal Streets within the city's CBD, it is tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast,[Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...]
*
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, ...
*
Space Needle
The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, it was built in the Seattle Center f ...
,
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
*
Ostankino Tower,
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
References
Further reading
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External links
TV tower Stuttgart
Satellite Image
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Stuttgart
Communication towers in Germany
Observation towers in Baden-Württemberg
Radio masts and towers in Germany
Towers completed in 1956
Tourist attractions in Stuttgart
Observation towers
Restaurant towers
1956 establishments in West Germany