Fernsehturm
Encyclopedia
Alexanderplatz
Alexanderplatz is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin, near the Fernsehturm. Berliners often call it simply Alex, referring to a larger neighborhood stretching from Mollstraße in the northeast to Spandauer Straße and the City Hall in the southwest.-Early...
and part of the World Federation of Great Towers (WFGT), the tower was constructed between 1965 and 1969 by the former German Democratic Republic administration who intended it as a symbol of Berlin, which it remains today, as it is easily visible throughout the central and some suburban districts of Berlin. With its height of 368 meters, it is the tallest structure in Germany.
Overview
Ostankino Tower
Ostankino Tower is a free-standing television and radio tower in Moscow, Russia. Standing tall, Ostankino was designed by Nikolai Nikitin. It is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers, currently the tallest in Europe and 4th tallest in the world. The tower was the first free-standing...
, the Kiev TV Tower
Kiev TV Tower
The Kiev TV Tower is a 385-metre lattice steel tower built in 1973 in Kiev, Ukraine, for radio and television broadcasting. It is the tallest freestanding lattice steel construction in the world. The tower is not open to the public....
and the Riga Radio and TV Tower
Riga Radio and TV Tower
The Riga Radio and TV Tower in Riga, Latvia is the tallest structure in the Baltic countries and in the European Union. It was built between 1979 and 1986 by USSR. Its highest point reaches 368.5 m , which makes it the third tallest tower in Europe and the 14th tallest tower in the world...
. There is a visitor platform and a 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...
in the middle of the sphere. The visitor platform is at a height of about 204 metres (669.3 ft) above the ground and visibility can reach 42 kilometres (26.1 mi) on a clear day. The restaurant, which rotates once every 30 minutes, is a few metres above the visitors platform (originally it turned once per hour; the speed was later doubled following the tower's late 1990s renovation).
Inside the shaft are two lifts that shuttle visitors up to the sphere of the tower within 40 seconds. It is not accessible by wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
.
To mark the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
in Germany, for which the final match was played in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, the sphere was decorated as a football with magenta
Magenta
Magenta is a color evoked by light stronger in blue and red wavelengths than in yellowish-green wavelengths . In light experiments, magenta can be produced by removing the lime-green wavelengths from white light...
-coloured pentagons, reflecting the corporate colour of World Cup sponsor and owner of the Fernsehturm, Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
.
History
In 1964, Walter UlbrichtWalter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
, leader of the Socialist Unity Party
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
which governed East Germany, decided to allow the construction of a television tower on Alexanderplatz, modelled on the Fernsehturm Stuttgart
Fernsehturm Stuttgart
The Fernsehturm Stuttgart is the world's first TV tower built from concrete ....
. It was intended as a show of the GDR's strength, while its location is thought to have been deliberately chosen so that it would impose on views of West Berlin's Reichstag
Reichstag (building)
The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire. During the Nazi era, the few meetings of members of the...
building (when viewed from the front). The architecture traces back to an idea from Hermann Henselmann
Hermann Henselmann
Hermann Henselmann was a German architect most famous for his buildings constructed in East Germany during the 1950s and 60s.-Early years:...
, and Jörg Streitparth. Walter Herzog and Herbert Aust later also took part in the planning. Construction began on 4 August 1965. After four years of construction, the Fernsehturm began test broadcasts on 3 October 1969, and it was officially inaugurated four days later on the GDR's National Day. It is among the best known sights in Berlin, and has around a million visitors every year.
The "Pope's Revenge"
Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
).
U.S. President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
mentioned this phenomenon in his "Tear down this wall
Tear down this wall
"Tear down this wall!" was the challenge from United States President Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall....
" speech on 12 June 1987:
Technical details
- 1 tuned mass damperTuned mass damperA tuned mass damper, also known as an active mass damper or harmonic absorber, is a device mounted in structures to reduce the amplitude of mechanical vibrations. Their application can prevent discomfort, damage, or outright structural failure...
- Entrance of observation deck is 6.25 metres (20.5 ft) above ground
- 2 KoneKONEKone Oyj , founded in 1910 and headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is an international engineering and service company employing some 32,500 personnel worldwide. The firm is the fourth largest manufacturer of elevators worldwide, a leading manufacturer of escalators, and also provides maintenance...
lifts for transport of visitors - 1 lift for transport of technical equipment
- Steel stairway with 986 steps
- Evacuation platforms at 188 metres (616.8 ft) and 191 metres (626.6 ft) high
- Observation deck at 203.78 metres (668.6 ft)
- Restaurant at 207.53 metres (680.9 ft)
- Height of the tower: 368.03 metres (1,207.4 ft)
- Weight of the shaft: 26000 tonnes (25,589.3 LT)
- Weight of the sphere 4800 tonnes (4,724.2 LT)
Analogue FM radio
- 87.9 MHz – Star FM
- 90.2 MHz – BBC World ServiceBBC World ServiceThe BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
- 91.4 MHz – Berliner Rundfunk
- 93.6 MHz – Jam FM
- 94.3 MHz – rs2
- 95.8 MHz – RBB Radio One
- 97.7 MHz – DeutschlandfunkDeutschlandfunkDeutschlandfunk is a German public broadcasting radio station, broadcasting national news and current affairs.-History:Broadcasting in the Federal Republic of Germany is reserved under the Basic Law to the states. This means that all public broadcasting is regionalised...
- 98.8 MHz – Kiss FM
- 99.7 MHz – Antenne Brandenburg
- 100.6 MHz – Motor FM
- 101.3 MHz – Klassik RadioKlassik RadioKlassik Radio is a radio station in Germany. It specialises in classical music, Film music and Lounge music. The channel is receivable in over 300 German cities via FM, throughout Germany via cable, and in Europe via satellite. It is also worldwide streamed on the internet...
- 101.9 MHz – JazzRadio 101.9
- 102.6 MHz – RBB Fritz
- 103.4 MHz – Energy Berlin
- 104.6 MHz – 104.6 RTL
- 105.5 MHz – Spreeradio
- 106 MHz – Radio France InternationaleRadio France InternationaleRadio France Internationale was created in 1975 as part of Radio France by the Government of France, and replaced the Poste Colonial , Paris Mondial , Radio Paris , RTF Radio Paris and ORTF Radio Paris...
Digital radio (DAB)/Digital mobile television (DMB)
- Block 12B – 225.648 MHz (DAB)
- FIRST Audio iDLS
- Rock Antenne
- Block 12D – 229.072 MHz (DAB)
- DeutschlandfunkDeutschlandfunkDeutschlandfunk is a German public broadcasting radio station, broadcasting national news and current affairs.-History:Broadcasting in the Federal Republic of Germany is reserved under the Basic Law to the states. This means that all public broadcasting is regionalised...
- Voice of RussiaVoice of RussiaVoice of Russia is the Russian government's international radio broadcasting service owned by the All-Russia State Television and Radio Company. Its predecessor Radio Moscow was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.-Early years:Radio Moscow...
- Deutschlandfunk
- Block LA – 1452.960 MHz
- All Digital OneDigital OneDigital One is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva. , the multiplex covers more than 90% of the populationfrom a total of 137 transmitters...
stations (DAB) - Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
(DMB) - E4 (DMB)
- ITN (DMB)
- ITV1ITV1ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
(DMB)
- All Digital One
Digital television (DVB-T)
- VHF 5 (177.5 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 1
- WDR FernsehenWDR FernsehenWDR Fernsehen is a regional public service television station owned & operated by Westdeutscher Rundfunk and serving North Rhine-Westphalia. It is one of the seven regional "third programmes" that are offered within the federal ARD network....
(KölnCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
) - SWR FernsehenSWR FernsehenSWR Fernsehen is a German regional television channel targeting the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. It is produced by Südwestrundfunk and is one of eight regional "third channels" broadcast by the ARD members....
(Baden-WürttembergBaden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
/Rheinland-Pfalz) - HSE24
- WDR Fernsehen
- VHF 7 (191.5 MHz) – ARDARD (broadcaster)ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
regional programming- MDR Fernsehen (SachsenSaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
) - arteArteArte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
- NDR FernsehenNDR FernsehenNDR Fernsehen is a regional television channel targeting northern Germany, specifically the states of Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Hamburg and Bremen. It is broadcast by both Norddeutscher Rundfunk and Radio Bremen, although NDR provides most of the output as they are...
(NiedersachsenLower SaxonyLower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
)
- MDR Fernsehen (Sachsen
- UHF 25 (506 MHz) – RTL GroupRTL GroupRTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11 countries...
- RTLRTL TelevisionRtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
- RTL IIRTL IIRTL II is a privately owned, commercial, general-interest German television channel.It was founded as a second-generation commercial broadcaster in 1993. It quickly became infamous for its perceived "trash programming", comprising lots of soft porn as well as shows such as Peep and many...
- Super RTLSuper RTLSuper RTL is a Cologne-based German television network operated by RTL Disney Fernsehen GmbH & Co. KG. It was the second German television channel aimed mostly at children...
- VOX
- RTL
- UHF 27 (522 MHz) – ARD national programming
- Das ErsteDas ErsteErstes Deutsches Fernsehen , marketed as Das Erste , is the principal publicly owned television channel in Germany...
- rbb Fernsehen Berlin
- PhoenixPhoenix (German TV station)Phoenix is a publicly-funded television station in Germany which is produced jointly by public broadcasting organizations ARD and ZDF. Its programming consists of documentaries, news broadcasts, special events coverage, and discussion programmes...
- EinsExtraEinsExtraEinsExtra is a digital television channel from the German broadcaster ARD, available as part of the ARD digital package of channels. It launched on 30 August 1997....
/rbb Fernsehen (BrandenburgBrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
)
- Das Erste
- UHF 33 (570 MHz) – ZDFvision
- ZDFZDFZweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
- 3sat3sat3sat is the name of a public, advertising-free, television network in Central Europe. The programming is in German and is broadcast primarily within Germany, Austria and Switzerland .3sat was established for cultural...
- ZDFinfokanal
- ZDFneoZDFneoZDFneo is a German digital terrestrial television channel, programmed for an audience aged 18 to 45 to counter the primarily older-skewing main programmes of public broadcasters ZDF and ARD. It replaced ZDF's documentary channel, "ZDFdokukanal", on November 1, 2009.-Name:Although the channel's logo...
/KI.KAKI.KAKI.KA is a public non-commercial free television channel based in Erfurt, Germany. It is a joint venture of national public television channels ARD, and ARD's constituent broadcasting institutions – BR, HR, MDR, NDR, Radio Bremen, RBB, Saarländischer Rundfunk, SWR, WDR and ZDF, and is targeted at...
- ZDF
- UHF 39 (618 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 4 (trial)
- QVCQVCQVC is a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts in five countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan and – QVC Italy to 200 million households...
- Das Vierte
- Bibel TV
- TVP PoloniaTVP PoloniaTVP Polonia is the international channel of the Telewizja Polska . The channel is co-funded by the TVP and the Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and broadcasts from the TVP headquarters in Warsaw...
(beginning January 2010)
- QVC
- UHF 44 (658 MHz) – ProSiebenSat.1
- ProSieben
- Sat.1Sat.1Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station in Germany, having started one day before RTL Television....
- kabel eins
- N24
- UHF 56 (754 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 2
- DSFDSFDSF can mean:* Deutsches Sportfernsehen, a German TV channel for sport* Democratic Students' Front, an independent political students' organisation of Jadavpur University* DSF Refractories & Minerals Ltd, a British refractory brick manufacturer...
- 9Live9Live9Live was a commercial German participation TV channel launched on September 1, 2001 and lasted until August 9, 2011. It originated from a channel called tm3. Most of its programming is lottery and quiz games, in which the viewer can participate over the phone...
- EurosportEurosportEurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...
- TV.Berlin
- DSF
- UHF 59 (778 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 3
- n-tvN-tvn-tv is a German television news channel owned by the Bertelsmann AG Media's RTL Group and an affiliate network of CNN since the networks creation in 1992....
- EuronewsEuroNewsEuronews is an international multilingual news television channel.It covers world news from what it claims to be a 'European' perspective.Criticisms are that the perspective is in fact that of the European Commission - a major and growing funder of Euronews....
- 90elf90elf90elf.de, launched on 13 August 2008, is a commercial German language Internet radio station which specializes in broadcasting football matches. In some German regions 90elf can also be received by cable or DVB-T...
Interactive - 15 radio channels
- n-tv
See also
- List of towers
- List of tallest freestanding structures in the world
- Fernsehturm StuttgartFernsehturm StuttgartThe Fernsehturm Stuttgart is the world's first TV tower built from concrete ....
- Funkturm BerlinFunkturm BerlinThe Berliner Funkturm or Funkturm Berlin is a transmitting tower in Berlin, built between 1924 and 1926 by Heinrich Straumer. It is nicknamed "der lange Lulatsch" and is one of the best-known points of interest in the city of Berlin. It stands in the Berlin trade fair ground in the...
- Fernmeldeturm BerlinFernmeldeturm BerlinThe Fernmeldeturm Berlin is a telecommunication tower located atop the Schäferberg hill in Berlin-Wannsee. The tower was built between 1961 and 1964, and is not open to the public...