The transmitter Wilsdruff was a

medium wave Medium wave (MW) is a part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the daytim ...

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

broadcasting facility near

Wilsdruff Wilsdruff () is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, in Saxony, Germany, with 14,444 inhabitants (2020). It is situated 14 km west of Dresden centre. Kesselsdorf is one of its subdivisions. Near Wilsdruff there is a facility for ...

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 ...

. Until the 1990s there was a transmitter for 1044 kHz with 250 kilowatts transmission power. This was a 153-metre guyed steel tube

mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mas ...

, insulated with respect to ground. Since the mid nineties transmission power was only 20 kilowatts. The new transmitter is in a circular building on which the mast stands. The old transmitter of the fifties is a technical monument. The whole facility is a relic from the

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

era with a high fence (double fence with dog track and

watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...

s) which is still almost complete.

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s are employed for an emergency power supply, modified from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

engines. The program "MDR info" transmitted from here on 1044 kHz until 2013. From 2001 to 2003 a second transmitter for MEGARADIO on 1431 kHz was operated. This also used the steel tube mast as its transmitter. After its shutdown in 2013, the mast was torn down on August 1, 2021.

See also