The Fernsehturm Dresden-Wachwitz is a
TV tower
Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antenna (radio), antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the ...
in
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It is situated on the ''Wachwitzer Elbhöhen'' and serves as a transmitting tower for television and radio broadcasts. Due to its visibility over large distances and its unusual form, it has become a
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...
of Dresden and the Elbe Valley. Its address is 37 Oberwachwitzer Way, Dresden.
Construction
The architects of the Dresdner TV tower were Kurt Nowotny, Hermann Rühle and Johannes Braune. Built between 1963 and 1969, its cup-like design was inspired by a sparkling wine glass. It is 252 metres high and is the second highest building in the former GDR after the
Berlin TV tower
The Fernsehturm (; ) in central Berlin was constructed between 1965 and 1969 by the government of the German Democratic Republic as both a functional broadcasting facility and a symbol of Communist power.
It remains a landmark today from its p ...
, which is 368 metres high. The tip of the building towers approximately 373 metres above the
Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
river level and the foot is 230 metres above sea level. The shank of the building consists of reinforced concrete and has a diameter of 21 metres, which is buried underground to a depth of six metres in Lusatian
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
. The total weight of the tower amounts to 7300 tonnes.
Radio engineering
On September 18, 1969, radio transmissions were started from the tower. It possesses four transmission mechanisms for VHF broadcasts and three transmitters for television. In 2003, a small fire occurred in the transmitting rooms, which was quickly brought under control.
List of channels
Analogue radio (FM)
*89.2
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
:
R.SA
*90.1 MHz:
MDR MDR may refer to:
Biology
* MDR1, an ATP-dependent cellular efflux pump affording multiple drug resistance
* Mammalian diving reflex
* Medical device reporting
* Multiple drug resistance, when a microorganism has become resistant to multiple drugs ...
Jump
*92.2 MHz:
MDR Radio 1 Sachsen
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
*93.2 MHz:
Deutschlandradio Kultur
Deutschlandfunk Kultur (; abbreviated to ''DLF Kultur'' or ''DKultur'') is a culture-oriented radio station and part of Deutschlandradio, a set of three national radio stations in Germany. Initially named ''DeutschlandRadio Berlin'', the station ...
*95.4 MHz:
MDR Figaro
*97.3 MHz:
Deutschlandfunk
Deutschlandfunk (DLF, ''Broadcast Germany'') is a public-broadcasting radio station in Germany, concentrating on news and current affairs. It is one of the four national radio channels produced by Deutschlandradio.
History
Broadcasting in t ...
*100.2 MHz:
Energy Sachsen
*102.4 MHz:
Radio PSR
*103.5 MHz:
Radio Dresden
*105.2 MHz:
Hitradio RTL Sachsen
*106.1 MHz:
MDR info
Digital radio (DAB)
*Block 12A (223.936 MHz):
**Deutschlandfunk
**Deutschlandradio Kultur
**
MDR Klassik
MDR Klassik is a German public radio station owned and operated by the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR). The station broadcasts a classical music format, similar to BR-Klassik. It is a digital-only station and is not available via FM broadcasting ...
Analog television (PAL)
*UHF 59 (visual 775.25 MHz, aural 781.25 MHz):
Dresden Fernsehen
=Historical broadcasts
=
East German
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
television (
DFF) was transmitted from the tower between 1969 and 1990. The first programme (DFF/DDR-FS/DDR1/DFF1) was on channel 10, with the second programme (DFF2/DDR2) broadcasting on channel 29 from 1972. DFF2/DDR2 broadcast in
SECAM
SECAM, also written SÉCAM (, ''Séquentiel de couleur à mémoire'', French for ''sequential colour memory''), is an analog color television system that was used in France, Russia and some other countries or territories of Europe and Africa. ...
colour. This was deliberately different from the West German
PAL
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
standard, so East German residents could not watch West German broadcasts in colour. In practice, however, few East Germans owned colour sets, and reception of both standards was possible in black-and-white.
Dresden, because of its location in a valley, was one of the few areas of East Germany (and the only major city in the country) that could not receive the broadcast of
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
's
ARD (now known as Das Erste) from either
Ochsenkopf or West Berlin, despite the best efforts of West German broadcasters to cover the whole of the East. This led to Dresden and the surrounding area being called "Tal der Ahnungslosen" (
"The Valley of the Clueless"), because its citizens only had access to the propaganda of East Germany.
ARD was said to stand for "Außer ("except")
Rügen
Rügen (; Rani: ''Rȯjana'', ''Rāna''; , ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic ci ...
und Dresden" or rather "Außer Raum Dresden" ("except/outside of Dresden area").
The two East German programmes were replaced upon reunification by ARD and
MDR Fernsehen
MDR Fernsehen is a regional public service television channel owned and operated by Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) and serving Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. It is one of the seven regional "third programmes" that are offered within the fed ...
, respectively, with
ZDF
ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...
broadcasts commencing on channel 46. All analogue transmissions of public stations from the tower ended on 22 July 2007. Analogue transmission of the commercial networks, which began with reunification, ended at different times. Broadcasts of
RTL
RTL may refer to:
Media
* RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company
*** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels)
*** List of RTL Group's radio stations
** RTL Lëtzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...
on channel 43 ended in 1995, when it was replaced by
VOX. This was followed by the switchoff of
Sat.1
Sat.1 () is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group.
It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesell ...
on channel 48 in 2002, and finally VOX in 2004.
Digital television (DVB-T)
*UHF 29 (538 MHz): Regional third programmes
**
MDR MDR may refer to:
Biology
* MDR1, an ATP-dependent cellular efflux pump affording multiple drug resistance
* Mammalian diving reflex
* Medical device reporting
* Multiple drug resistance, when a microorganism has become resistant to multiple drugs ...
**
RBB
**
WDR
**
BR
*UHF 36 (594 MHz):
ZDF
ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...
programming
**
ZDF
ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...
**
3sat
3sat (, ''Dreisat'') is a free-to-air German-language public service television channel. It is a generalist channel with a cultural focus and is jointly operated by public broadcasters from Germany ( ZDF, ARD), Austria ( ORF) and Switzerlan ...
**
KI.KA/
ZDFdokukanal
ZDFdokukanal was a TV station which operated between 1 April 2000 and 31 October 2009 and was part of the digital TV package offered by ZDF.
Distribution
The program was broadcast nationwide via TV cable networks (DVB-C) and the satellite Astra ...
**
ZDFinfokanal
*UHF 39 (618 MHz):
ARD programming
**
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
**
arte
Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...
**
Phoenix
**
EinsFestival
Tourism
Until its renovation in 1991 by
Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. It was formed in 199 ...
(German Telecom) and the closing-down of the GDR state-owned company which ran the HO Restaurant, the public could reach the tower by two elevators. Within the public area was a two-story restaurant with 132 seats at a height of 145 metres and above that was an observation platform. The renovations of the elevators, for a second escape route, for air conditioning and building services, catering and parking would cost 8 million euros.
It is estimated that an economical enterprise would only be possible with 500,000 visitors per year.
See also
*
List of towers
The tallest structure in the world is the Burj Khalifa skyscraper at . Listed are guyed masts (such as telecommunication masts), self-supporting towers (such as the CN Tower), skyscrapers (such as the Willis Tower), oil platforms, electricity ...
Sources
External links
*
Verein "Fernsehturm Dresden"
{{Authority control
Towers completed in 1969
Observation towers in Saxony
Communication towers in Germany
Buildings and structures in Dresden
Landmarks in Germany
Tourist attractions in Dresden
Restaurant towers
1969 establishments in East Germany