Stuttgart Television Tower (Fernsehturm)

The Stuttgart Television (TV) Tower stands on the Hoher Bopser Hill in Stuttgart. At first, the structure was 211.96 m high and was the first free-standing reinforced concrete tower in cantilever construction. Its foundation has a depth of 8.40 m and a diameter of 30 m. It was built according to the plans of engineer Fritz Leonhardt. Construction began in June 1954. In February 1956 the Stuttgart TV Tower was opened.

In 1965 the transmission mast was raised for a more powerful transmitter. Since then, the tower has had a total height of 216.61 m. In March 2013 the tower was closed due to fire protection defects and reopened in January 2016. In 1959, the tower was awarded the newly donated Paul Bonatz Architecture Award. Since 1986, it has been a “cultural monument of special significance” in the sense of the Monument Protection Act. In 2009, the Federal Chamber of Architecture awarded it the title “Historical Landmark of German Engineering Architecture”.

In order to finance the tower, the placement of advertising on the façade was considered. A Mercedes star on the top of the TV tower or lettering from other Stuttgart companies was discussed. There was even a suggestion to design the tower basket as a yoghurt cup. All those ideas were rejected. Later it turned out that after ten years, the construction costs were fully paid for due to the high number of visitors. In May 1993, a Slovakian artist installed a wind art installation on the tower. In 2001 and 2002, a parachute world champion jumped down from the TV tower with a group of base-jumpers. In 2004, a tightrope artist drove with a specially converted Smart on a steel rope attached to the tower at a height of 53 m. While the car was in motion another artist performed tricks on the roof of the car. There are occasionally live radio broadcasts from the TV tower. In the tower basket there is an event room for readings, concerts and theatre performances. Since its reopening in 2016, civil weddings have also been possible in the tower.