The Heinrich Hertz Tower (german: Heinrich-Hertz-Turm) is a landmark
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
tower
A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures.
Towers are specifi ...
in the city of
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
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,
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 ...
.
Designed by architect Fritz Trautwein, in co-operation with civil engineers
Jörg Schlaich
Jörg Schlaich (17 October 1934 – 4 September 2021) was a German structural engineer and is known internationally for his ground-breaking work in the creative design of bridges, long-span roofs, and other complex structures. He was a co-founde ...
, Rudolf Bergermann and
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 ...
, the tower was built between 1965–1968 for the former ''
Deutsche Bundespost
The Deutsche Bundespost (German federal post office) was a German state-run postal service and telecommunications business founded in 1947. It was initially the second largest federal employer during its time. After staff reductions in the 19 ...
'' (German Federal Post and Telecommunications Agency, now ''s subsidiary ') near ' park.
With an overall height of 279.2 m (916 ft) it is
Hamburg's tallest structure, consisting of a 204 m (670 ft) steel-reinforced concrete lower section topped by a 45 m (148 ft) steel-lattice tower and a three-segmented cylinder of about 30 m (98 ft), which supports various antennas. There are eight concentric platforms stacked one above the other: starting at 128 m (420 ft) with the two-story observation (lower floor) and restaurant (upper floor) platform, served by two high-speed elevators. Above that at 150 m (492 ft) is the operations platform housing the workforce and equipment, and further up six differentially sized, smaller open platforms in same distances, populated with high-gain directional
microwave radio relay antennas ("parabolic mirrors"). Number nine was added at 25 m height in July 2005.
After the observation platform and restaurant were closed due to asbestos decontamination, former
stuntman Jochen Schweizer had a
bungee jumping base installed. The restaurant will not open again due to new fire escape regulations, and the bungee platform was closed at the end of 2001.
