Deutschlandfunk Kultur (; abbreviated to ''DLF Kultur'' or ''DKultur'') is a culture-oriented radio station and part of Deutschlandradio, a set of national radio stations in Germany. Initially named ''DeutschlandRadio Berlin'', the station was renamed ''Deutschlandradio Kultur'' on 1 April 2005. The present name was adopted on 1 May 2017. The station's studios are in what was the RIAS building at Hans-Rosenthal-Platz in

Schöneberg Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempe ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

History

Deutschlandfunk Kultur's roots go back to the first

Deutschlandsender Deutschlandsender (, ''Radio Germany''), abbreviated DLS or DS, was one of the longest-established radio broadcasting stations in Germany. The name was used between 1926 and 1993 to denote a number of powerful stations designed to achieve all-Ger ...

, set up in 1926. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, ''Deutschlandsender'' became the main national radio station of the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

(GDR), with programming aimed at all of Germany. In the 1970s it was merged with the main Berlin station ''Berliner Welle'' and renamed ''Stimme der DDR'' - "Voice of the GDR". It lasted until February 1990 when it again became ''Deutschlandsender'', and in May 1990 it merged with Radio DDR 2. The merged entity was named ''Deutschlandsender Kultur''. In 1994, German broadcasting authorities reorganised radio services of the former GDR and the

Federal Republic of 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 between ...

. Deutschlandfunk in the west (based in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

) and RIAS in Berlin were merged with

to form Deutschlandradio. In the new structure, Deutschlandfunk became the national information radio station. Deutschlandsender became "DeutschlandRadio Berlin". On 7 March 2005, DeutschlandRadio Berlin became "Deutschlandradio Kultur". The name was changed again on 1 May 2017, when the station became "Deutschlandfunk Kultur".

Programmes

Deutschlandfunk Kultur is noted for its radio plays and documentaries. The station's programmes also cover arts, culture, and science. Deutschlandfunk Kultur carries no commercial advertising. Every Sunday just before midday, the station broadcasts the sound of the Freedom Bell in Berlin along with a reading of part of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

. The bell was presented by America to the city of Berlin in 1950 as a symbol of anti-communism, and was inspired by the American Liberty Bell. The tradition of broadcasting the bell was originally begun by RIAS, an antecedent of DLF Kultur.

Transmission technology

Deutschlandfunk Kultur is transmitted on FM, DAB and DVB-S. The station's longwave broadcasts on 177 kHz from the Oranienburg transmitter ceased on 31 December 2014. The station's output is

livestreamed Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

on the Deutschlandradio website, and individual programmes are available as

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

References

External links

Deutschlandfunk Kultur website

ARD Radio
{{Authority control Deutschlandradio German radio networks Radio stations in Germany Mass media in Berlin