Fernsehturm Stuttgart

Fernsehturm Stuttgart (Stuttgart TV Tower) is a 216.61 m telecommunications tower in Stuttgart, Germany. It was the first telecommunications tower in the world constructed from reinforced concrete, and it is the prototype for many such towers worldwide. Although controversial at first, it quickly became a well known landmark of Stuttgart and a tourist attraction.

Location
The tower is located on the hill Hoher Bopser (elevation 483 meters) in the southern Stuttgart borough of Degerloch. From the observation decks there is a view of Stuttgart, from the forests and vineyards in and around Stuttgart to the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest.

The Waldau-Stadion (Gazi-Stadion auf der Waldau) is located near the tower; games played there are often described as "under the TV tower" or "in the shade of the TV tower".

History
The tower's construction was controversial – critics opposed the new building method and its costs; a simple 200-meter antenna array would have cost just 200,000 DM. Construction began on 10 January 1954 and continued for 20 months. This made it the first telecom tower in the world built with reinforced concrete. The construction cost was 4.2 million DM. Revenues from visitors reached that sum within five years. The tower was placed in service on 5 February 1956 by Süddeutscher Rundfunk (today Südwestrundfunk – SWR). It was part of the German state visit of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in May 1965.

The tower reached its current height of 216.61 m after the antenna was extended from October 1965 to December 1965.

Specifications

 * Engineer: Fritz Leonhardt
 * Altitude: Foot of tower 483 m above sea level
 * Overall height to the antenna point: 216.8 m
 * Height of upper observation deck: 153.5 m
 * Height of lower observation deck: 150 m
 * Diameter of foundation: 27 m
 * Total weight of tower: approximately 3,000 tons
 * Weight of foundation: approximately 1,500 tons
 * Speed of elevators: 5 m/s
 * Panorama Café on a platform of the tower basket
 * Maximum diameter of tower basket: 15 m

Broadcasting
The tower is still known as Fernsehturm but today only broadcasts several public FM radio stations. Transmission of the ARD TV network's analogue service stopped in 2006. The digital television services have moved to nearby Fernmeldeturm Stuttgart, which also broadcasts private FM radio stations in the area.

Air traffic warning lights
The tower carries beside the conventional red air traffic warning lights three rotating xenon lamps similar to those used on lighthouses just above the observation deck.

Public access
On 27 March 2013 the tower was closed to the public because of a review of fire safety regulations. The tower was reopened on 30 January 2016 with a refurbished entrance, shop area and new, optimised fire safety precautions.