The Ochsenkopf Transmitter (german: Sender Ochsenkopf) is a radio and TV tower of

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 ...

, which was built in 1958 on the summit of the Ochsenkopf mountain, the second-highest mountain in the

Fichtelgebirge The Fichtel MountainsRandlesome, C. et al. (2011). ''Business Cultures in Europe'', 2nd ed., Routledge, Abingdon and New York, p. 52. . (german: Fichtelgebirge, cs, Smrčiny), form a small horseshoe-shaped mountain range in northeastern Bavaria ...

mountain chain in Northern

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, Germany. The tower replaced a guyed steel tube TV mast that collapsed in January 1958 as result of icing. The tower, which is not accessible to the public, has a hyperbolic-shaped basement with five floors for technical equipment. Above it, there are platforms for directional antennas. The antennas for FM-transmission are on the upper part of the concrete tower, those for TV transmission on a steel tube mast on the top.

Transmitting to the former GDR

Ochsenkopf TV Tower played an important role in transmitting to the former GDR many West German FM and TV programs, notably ARD,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

's first – and between 1952 and 1963 only – television channel. Its signal could penetrate deep into the southern territory of East Germany due to its closeness to the border, its use of a low frequency ( VHF

Band I Band I is a range of radio frequencies within the very high frequency (VHF) part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The first time there was defined "for simplicity" in Annex 1 of "Final acts of the European Broadcasting Conference in the VHF and U ...

channel 4), and of vertical polarization. Under good conditions, its signal could be received as far away as

Görlitz Görlitz (; pl, Zgorzelec, hsb, Zhorjelc, cz, Zhořelec, :de:Ostlausitzer Mundart, East Lusatian dialect: ''Gerlz'', ''Gerltz'', ''Gerltsch'') is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is located on the Lusatian Neisse River, and ...

on the East German-

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

border, even though most aerials there were pointed at the

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

transmitters. The transmitter required large and specifically mounted aerials nicknamed ''Ochsenkopf-Antenne'', or ''Ochsenkopf'' for short, thus making the homes of viewers of western television easily recognizable. A

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

in the early 1960s by East Germany's state youth organisation FDJ aimed at turning away or removing such aerials exploited this fact.

Similar towers

Many other TV towers of similar design were built after 1958 in Germany and other European countries, including: *

Święty Krzyż TV Tower Święty Krzyż TV Tower ( Polish: RTCN Święty Krzyż ) is the tallest free-standing TV tower in Poland. (Taller architectural structures in Poland are guyed masts or highrise buildings and chimneys equipped with antennas). Święty Krzyż TV T ...

in Poland *

Brotjacklriegel TV Tower Seen from the River Danube, the Brotjacklriegel is the first high mountain in the Bavarian Forest. It is and lies in the county of Freyung-Grafenau in the German federal state of Bavaria. It is a symbol of the Sonnenwald region which comprises t ...

in Germany *

Donnersberg TV Tower The Donnersberg ("thunder mountain") is the highest peak of the Palatinate (german: Pfalz) region of Germany. The mountain lies between the towns of Rockenhausen and Kirchheimbolanden, in the Donnersbergkreis district, which is named after the m ...

in Germany *

Ještěd Tower Ještěd Tower is a 94-meter-tall television transmitter built on the top of Mount Ještěd near Liberec in the Czech Republic. It is made of reinforced concrete shaped in a ''hyperboloid'' form. The tower's architect is Karel Hubáček who ...

in Czech Republic * Schladming TV Tower, Austri

*

Kitzbüheler Horn transmitter The Kitzbüheler Horn Transmitter (german: Sender Kitzbüheler Horn) is a transmission tower made of reinforced concrete on the summit of the Kitzbüheler Horn near Kitzbühel in Austria. The Kitzbühler Horn Transmitter does not have a cylind ...

, Austria * Mugel TV Tower, Austria * Slanchev Bryag TV Tower, Bulgari

* Stramni Rid TV Tower, Bulgaria

* Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Russia

Transmitted Programs

FM Radio

Television (digital,
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)

Launched on November 25, 2008.

Former Programs

Television (analogue, PAL standard)

Shut down on November 30, 2008. The public channels

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

and

Bayerisches Fernsehen Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR; "Bavarian Broadcasting") is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcas ...

for the region were previously transmitted from the nearby mountain

Großer Waldstein The Großer Waldstein is part of the Waldstein range in the Fichtel Mountains of Germany. It is known primarily for its rock formations caused by spheroidal weathering, its ruined castles and the only remaining bear trap (''Bärenfang' ...

References

External links

* * http://www.skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b54478
Video: Final closedown of analogue channel E4
{{coord, 50, 01, 50, N, 11, 48, 29, E, display=title, region:DE-BY_type:mountain_source:dewiki 1958 establishments in West Germany Hyperboloid structures Fichtel Mountains Radio masts and towers in Germany Towers completed in 1958 Buildings and structures in Bayreuth (district)