Donauturm - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

Donauturm^[p] (Danube Tower), opened in April 1964, is the tallest free-standing structure in Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, at 252 metres (826.8 ft), the tallest structure in Austria, and among the 75 tallest towers in the world. The tower is located near the north bank of the Danube River in the district of Donaustadt. In the infobox there you can see the view towards northwest. The hills Leopoldsberg

Leopoldsberg

The Leopoldsberg is perhaps Vienna’s most famous overlook, towering over the Danube and the city. Leopoldberg’s most prominent landmark is the church which stands at the top, and which is clearly visible from Vienna below...

and Kahlenberg

Kahlenberg

Kahlenberg is a mountain located in the 19th District within Vienna, Austria .-General:Kahlenberg lies in the Wienerwald and is one of the most popular destinations for day-trips from Vienna, offering a view over the entire city. Parts of Lower Austria can also be seen from Stefaniewarte at the...

are visible in the background.

History

The Donauturm was constructed during 1962–1964, as designed by architect Hannes Lintl

Hannes Lintl

Hannes Lintl was an Austrian architect, best known for designing the Donauturm , part of the Viennese skyline, and a popular lookout point and tourist attraction....

, in preparation for the Viennese International Horticultural Show 1964. The tower stands at 252 metres (826.8 ft) in height. Groundbreaking took place on 12 October 1962. After approximately 18 months of construction, under the supervision of Eberhard Födisch, the tower was officially opened on 16 April 1964 by Federal President Adolf Schärf

Adolf Schärf

Adolf Schärf was, from 1957 to his death, the sixth President of Austria. Born into a poor working class family, he put himself through law school working part time and with a scholarship granted for academic excellence...

.

Since then, it has become a part of the Viennese skyline

Skyline

A skyline is the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as...

and has become a popular lookout point and a tourist attraction. It is situated in the middle of the Donaupark, which was built to host the horticultural fair in Vienna's 22nd District, Donaustadt, near the northern bank of the Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

High-speed elevators

Two high-speed elevator

Elevator

An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...

s transport passengers to the tower's viewing platform at 150 metres (492.1 ft). Each lift, carrying up to 14 passengers, takes only 35 seconds to reach the observation platform. In strong winds, the elevators travel at only half speed because of the possible fluctuation of the tower: the movement of the elevator cable could be dangerous. By walking about 779 steps (775, according to architects Lintl), the platform can also be reached on foot. The stairs are, however, usually only accessible during the annual Donauturm run, or in an emergency.

Carries antennas and radio transmitter

The Donauturm spire carries antennas of cellular phone networks, private VHF radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

s and several other radio communication services. Despite its similarity to TV

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

towers elsewhere, it has not been used for TV broadcasting. The major TV transmitter for the Vienna area is situated on Kahlenberg

Kahlenberg

hill (see image at top).

Radiostation	Frequency	ERP Effective radiated power In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...	since
Radio Arabella Wien	92,9 MHz	2,6653 kW	14 Dec 2001
Orange 94.0	94,0 MHz	0,3981 kW	17 Aug 1998
98,3 Superfly	98,3 MHz	0,3802 kW	29 Feb 2008
Radio Stephansdom	107,3 MHz	1,9999 kW	24 Sept 1998

Viewing platform

Two revolving restaurant

Revolving restaurant

A revolving restaurant is a usually tower restaurant eating space designed to rest atop a broad circular revolving platform that operates as a large turntable. The building remains stationary and the diners are carried on the revolving floor. The revolving rate varies between one and three times...

s (at a height of 160 and 170 metres, or 525 and 558 ft) offer a varied view over the Austrian capital and the Danube River below. It takes the platform either 26, 39 or 52 minutes to complete a full revolution. The restaurants were originally largely identical; however, now the top is an "upscale" restaurant (named "Donauwalzer") and the lower restaurant is a café (named "Panorama"). Even so, the menu and prices continue to differ little.

The observation deck also bears a bungee-jumping

Bungee jumping

Bungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a hot-air-balloon or helicopter, that...

site, with a platform projecting from the area. It is used at times during the summer months.

Ballooning accident in 1968

At a meeting of Pro Juventute on 6 June 1968, four hot air balloon

Hot air balloon

The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...

s were launched from a meadow at Donauturm. While three of them floated past the tower, the fourth was driven against the tower, where it was initially hung on the security grills, at an height of approx. 150 m. The balloon disintegrated and the gondola fell to the ground. The American balloonist Francis Shields and two Austrian passengers died who were a higher official of the Austrian Post and Telegraph Management Guntram Pammer and the young journalist Dieter Kasper of the Austrian Press agency.

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