Fernsehturm Berlin

Berliner Fernsehturm
The Fernsehturm seen from southwest
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Television tower, Restaurant, Observation tower
Location	Berlin, Germany
Coordinates	52°31′15″N 013°24′34″E
Completed	3 October 1969
Height	368.03 m (1,207.45 ft)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Hermann Henselmann
Main contractor	GDR government

The Fernsehturm (English: Berlin TV Tower) is a television tower in central Berlin, Germany.

Close to Alexanderplatz in Mitte, the tower was constructed between 1965 and 1969 by the administration of the German Democratic Republic. It was intended 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.

The tower has become one of the most prominent symbols of the country and is often in the establishing shot of films set in Berlin. Due to its location near Alexanderplatz, the tower is occasionally called Alex Tower, especially by Berlin visitors.

Overview

The original total height of the tower was 365 metres (1,198 ft), but it rose to 368 metres (1,207 ft) after the installation of a new antenna in the 1990s. The Fernsehturm is the fourth tallest freestanding structure in Europe, after Moscow's Ostankino Tower, the Kiev TV Tower and the Riga Radio and TV Tower. There is a visitor platform and a revolving restaurant in the middle of the sphere. The visitor platform, also called panoramic floor, is at a height of about 203 metres (666 ft) above the ground and visibility can reach 42 kilometres (26 mi) on a clear day. The restaurant Telecafé, which rotates once every 30 minutes, is a few metres above the visitors platform at 207 metres (679 ft) (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. There is also a Staircase with 986 steps.

To mark the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, for which the final match was played in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, the sphere was decorated as a football with magenta-coloured pentagons, reflecting the corporate colour of World Cup sponsor and owner of the Fernsehturm, Deutsche Telekom.

History

In 1964, the Fernsehturm was made in Denmark, Copenhagen but later on it was moved to Germany because of the finansal crise. The main leader were a guy from the Danish Demokrati Partei. Today the german people are meaing that Walter Ulbricht, is the leader of the Socialist Unity Party which governed East Germany, decided to allow the construction of a television tower on Alexanderplatz, modelled on the Fernsehturm Stuttgart and the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik. The TV tower had several architects. Its former design was done by Hermann Henselmann, and Jörg Streitparth. It was built by the East German architects Fritz Dieter, Günter Franke and Werner Ahrendt between 1965-69. Walter Herzog, Gerhard Kosel and Herbert Aust later also took part in the planning. The construction plan though emerged already in the 1950s. The tower was actually needed for transmitting radio and TV programmes. At the same time it was intended as symbol and as a show of the GDR's strength. After some discussions regarding the tower's location it was decided to build the Fernsehturm next to Alexanderplatz, which is situated in the centre of Berlin. 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 a year.

The "Pope's Revenge"

The "Pope's Revenge"

When the sun shines on the Fernsehturm's tiled stainless steel dome, the reflection usually appears in the form of a cross. This effect was not anticipated by the architect. Berliners nicknamed the luminous cross Rache des Papstes, or the "Pope's Revenge". For the same reasons, the structure was also called "St. Walter" (from Walter Ulbricht). U.S. President Ronald Reagan mentioned this in his "Tear down this wall" speech on 12 June 1987.

It is also affectionately known as the Telespargel (tele-sparagus) because of its shape.

Gallery

• 
  Sphere and spire of the Fernsehturm
• 
  The distinctive outline of the Fernsehturm is used for e.g. logos
• 
  Berliner Fernsehturm
• 
  Berlin TV Tower with St. Mary's Church
• 
  Berlin TV Tower at sunset
• 
• 
  Central Berlin with Oberbaum Bridge and TV Tower
• 
  The Pavillon at Fernsehturm's base
• 
  Fernsehturm seen from Alexanderplatz
• 
  Berliner Fernsehturm with Worldtime Clock at Alexanderplatz
• 
  Panorama café atop Berlin TV Tower
• 
  The Fernsehturm with Neptunbrunnen at night
• 
  Panorama of Berlin Mitte with TV Tower

Technical details

• 1 tuned mass damper
• Entrance of observation deck is 6.25 metres (20.5 ft) above ground
• 2 Kone lifts for transport of visitors
• 1 lift for transport of technical equipment
• Steel stairway with 986 steps
• Evacuation platforms at 188 metres (617 ft) and 191 metres (627 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: 26,000 tonnes (26,000 long tons; 29,000 short tons)
• Weight of the sphere 4,800 tonnes (4,700 long tons; 5,300 short tons)
• Diameter of the sphere 32 metres (105 ft)

Channels by frequency

Analogue FM radio

Frequency	kW	Service
87.9 MHz	1	Star FM
90.2 MHz	16	BBC World Service
91.4 MHz	100	Berliner Rundfunk 91,4
93.6 MHz	2.4	Jam FM
94.3 MHz	25	94,3 rs2
95.8 MHz	100	Radio Eins
97.7 MHz	100	Deutschlandfunk
98.8 MHz	1	98.8 KISS FM Berlin
99.7 MHz	100	Antenne Brandenburg
100.6 MHz	12.6	Motor FM
101.3 MHz	4	Klassik Radio
101.9 MHz	0.5	JazzRadio 101.9
102.6 MHz	15	Fritz
103.4 MHz	8	Energy Berlin
104.6 MHz	10	104.6 RTL
105.5 MHz	5	105'5 Spreeradio
106.0 MHz	1	Radio France Internationale

Digital radio (DAB)/Digital mobile television (DMB)

Frequency	Block	kW	Operator
178.352 MHz	5C	10	Germany
190.640 MHz	7B	7	Berlin 2
194.064 MHz	7D	10	Berlin 1
225.648 MHz	12B	1	FIRST (DAB/DMB tests)

Digital television (DVB-T)

• UHF 25 (506 MHz) – RTL Group
  • RTL
  • RTL II
  • Super RTL
  • VOX
• UHF 27 (522 MHz) – ARD national programming
  • Das Erste
  • rbb Fernsehen Berlin
  • Phoenix
  • EinsExtra/rbb Fernsehen (Brandenburg)
• UHF 33 (570 MHz) – ZDFvision
  • ZDF
  • 3sat
  • ZDFinfokanal
  • ZDFneo/KI.KA
• UHF 39 (618 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 4
  • QVC
  • Disney Channel Germany
  • Bibel TV
  • Bayerisches Fernsehen
  • n-tv
  • RTL Shop/Euronews
  • 5 radio stations
• UHF 44 (658 MHz) – ProSiebenSat.1
  • ProSieben
  • Sat.1
  • kabel eins
  • N24
• UHF 47 (682 MHz) – ARD regional programming
  • MDR Fernsehen (Sachsen)
  • arte
  • NDR Fernsehen (Niedersachsen)
  • hr-fernsehen
• UHF 50 (706 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 1
  • WDR Fernsehen (Köln)
  • SWR Fernsehen (Baden-Württemberg/Rheinland-Pfalz)
  • HSE24
  • Tele 5
• UHF 56 (754 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 2
  • iMusic1
  • sixx
  • Eurosport
  • TV.Berlin
• UHF 59 (778 MHz) – Mixed Berlin 3
  • Servus TV
  • Anixe
  • Juwelo TV

Analogue TV stations

The analogue TV service was shut down on August 4, 2003.

Frequency	Channel	kW	Service
175.25 MHz	5	100	TV.Berlin
519.25 MHz	27	1000	ORB-Fernsehen
631.25 MHz	41	1	BBC World
655.25 MHz	44	700	ProSieben
711.25 MHz	51	5	n-tv

See also

• List of towers
• List of tallest freestanding structures in the world
• Fernsehturm Stuttgart
• Funkturm Berlin
• Fernmeldeturm Berlin

External links

• Berlin Television Tower at Structurae
• Fernsehturm Official Website
• Berliner Fernsehturm during Football Worldcup 06
• All about the tower and Panorama
• Article in EXBERLINER Magazine