Fernmeldeturm Mannheim

The telecommunications tower of Mannheim is a planned by the architects Heinle, wiper and partners and erected 1973-1975, 212.8 -meter high telecommunications tower and a modern landmark of the city of Mannheim. He is thus the tallest structure in the city and one of the highest telecommunications tower in Germany.

The Mannheim telecommunications tower houses next transmission devices for radio relay and radio services within the VHF range in height of 120 meters, a revolving restaurant and an observation deck from which a panoramic view over Mannheim and the surrounding areas through to Odenwald, Palatinate Forest, and with very good visibility even to the easternmost one part has the North Palatine hill country with the thunder mountain.

• 3.1 Basic building
• 3.2 Architecture and Construction of the tower
• 3.3 public facilities

Location

The Mannheim telecommunications tower is located east of the city center, close to the southern shore of the Neckar on the northern edge of Luis Park. Directly on the tower is located at the Hans - Reschke Shore The stop telecommunications tower of the city railway line Mannheim- Heidelberg. At the foot of the telecommunications tower located visitor parking.

History

Planning and construction

The telecommunications technically unsatisfactory supply in the 1960s by Mannheim and the surrounding region was the trigger for the planning of an originally about 90 to 120 meter high telecommunications tower. This should be as central as possible. In planning the National Garden Show 1975 in Mannheim, the construction was taken up as a new landmark of a modern city of Mannheim again and the telecommunications tower should simultaneously be used as a lookout tower. When choosing the characteristic tower basket was to meet five requirements best. In addition to the footprint and cable feed the basket in the use of space should be variable to provide the best possible chance to fulfill a degree of innovation and be economical in terms of external surface and enclosed space. From the 18 possible base forms the shape of two reversely each running, different sized truncated cones was chosen.

As the site the southern bank of the Neckar is selected, right next to the grounds of Luis Park, where the Aerobus got one last stop. The foundation stone was laid on 10 April 1973 and it was completed on May 26, 1975, an original total height of 204.9 meters. Structural design completed Leonhardt, Andrae & Partner, the execution was incumbent Grün & Bilfinger.

Accident in 1994 and subsequent changes

On the night of December 5, 1994, a helicopter collided with the spire of the telecommunications tower, crashed about 200 meters from vertical and burned out completely. Here, all occupants, three crew members and a doctor died. Part of the top of the mast with the transmit antennas has been damaged and crashed down. Years later the tower was provided with a new antenna, with a new total height of 212.8 meters. The tip was now painted red and white and equipped with a new flight safety lighting. At the foot of the tower is a memorial to the casualties.

Description

Base building

There is a building for telegraph and homemaker technical rooms as well as rooms for the kitchen operation at the base of the tower. The building was designed as a so-called support -fungal ceiling construction; the facade consists of precast concrete elements. Although a part of the premises for telecommunications is also in the tower basket, the largest part, however, is housed on the grounds of efficiency and effectiveness in the base building. From the base building can be reached by means of an underground passage to the telecommunications tower. The walkway consists of in-situ concrete is separated by expansion joints from the shaft of the tower.

Architecture and Construction of the tower

The foundation of the telecommunications tower was formed due to the proximity to the Neckar of 160 cast-in- pile- piles, ranging in six concentric rings under a 3 -meter-thick base plate from 27.4 meters in diameter up to 9 feet in the ground.

The Mannheim TV Tower is a special tower with a tower shaft of circular cross section. The shank tapers from 13 meters in diameter and 60 cm wall thickness on the ground level, 4.6 meters in diameter and 25 cm wall thickness at 166 meters altitude.

The tower basket consists of two juxtaposed parts truncated cones. The lower truncated cone spreads from 20.5 meters to 30.1 meters; it fitted seamlessly tapers another of 20.3 meters to 18.4 meters. At the bottom of the 250 people comprehensive view basement are 120.9 meters and 124.7 meters Restaunrantgeschoss on. The revolving restaurant rotates once per hour around its own axis. The upper three floors are unglazed and accommodate a floor machine to 129.5 meters, a Operating missile at 132.8 meters and a Rangiergeschoss with the elevator machine room to 135.8 meters. The outer skin of the tower basket is made of anodized aluminum sheet, which in the lower part has not openable windows from vapor-deposited insulating glass. About the basket close in three aerial platforms made ​​of concrete ( 145.4 meters, 153.2 meters and 160.4 meters), the decrease in cross-section to an optical unit with the upper part of the tower top to form. The platforms serve as a space for directional antennas; the second platform also serves as an air analysis station. On the top of the three platforms is for the antenna mounting a hoist.

From a height of 166.2 meters, a 46 meter high white-red tip of the antenna joins. The steel lattice mast is disguised to protect against icing with a plastic sheath.

Public facilities

The public are the bottom two floors of the tower top. At 120.9 meters, the view of levels is a bistro and 124.7 meters high the revolving restaurant skyline. With 156 seats, it is one of the most abstract restaurants in this amount. The prospect basement is the lowest of all special towers publicly available in Germany. About 70,000 people visit the revolving restaurant per year.

Two passenger elevators with a speed of 6 meters per second transport visitors from the tower base in the two projectiles. In emergencies Umstiege are possible between the two lifts. The food for the revolving restaurant are prepared in the base building and started with one of the passenger lifts in a special container in the warming kitchen of the restaurant. With an additional door by the warming kitchen of the restaurant and bar of the view projectile, the kitchen can be supplied directly, without the public transport is impaired. The premises for kitchen, home automation and visitors toilets are located in two public floors in the tower basket in a circle around the wall of the tower shaft.

Frequencies and programs

In addition to the use of the telecommunications tower Mannheim for the radio traffic, he radiates the following radio programs:

To broadcast television programs of the Mannheim telecommunications tower was never used.