Dresden TV tower

The Fernsehturm Dresden-Wachwitz is a TV tower in Dresden, Germany. It is situated on the Wachwitzer Elbhöhen and serves as a transmitting tower for television and radio broadcasts. Due to its visibility over large distances and its unusual form, it has become a landmark of Dresden and the Elbe Valley. Its address is 37 Oberwachwitzer Way, Dresden.

The architects of the Dresdner TV tower were Kurt Nowotny, Hermann Rühle and Johannes Braune. Built between 1963 and 1969, its cup-like design was inspired by a sparkling wine glass. It is 252 metres high and is the second highest building in the former GDR after the Berlin TV tower, which is 368 metres high. The tip of the building towers approximately 373 metres above the Elbe river level and the foot is 230 metres above sea level. The shank of the building consists of reinforced concrete and has a diameter of 21 metres, which is buried underground to a depth of six metres in Lausitzer granite. The total weight of the tower amounts to 7300 tonnes.

On September 18, 1969, radio transmissions were started from the tower. It possesses four transmission mechanisms for VHF broadcasts and three transmitters for television. In 2003, a small fire occurred in the transmitting rooms, which was quickly brought under control.

East German television (DFF) was transmitted from the tower between 1969 and 1990. The first programme (DFF/DDR-FS/DDR1/DFF1) was on channel 10, with the second programme (DFF2/DDR2) broadcasting on channel 29 from 1972. DFF2/DDR2 broadcast in SECAM colour. This was deliberately different from the West German PAL standard, so East German residents could not watch West German broadcasts in colour. In practice, however, few East Germans owned colour sets, and reception of both standards was possible in black-and-white.

Dresden, because of its location in a valley, was one of the few areas of East Germany (and the only major city in the country) that could not receive the broadcast of West Germany's ARD (now known as Das Erste) from either Ochsenkopf or West Berlin, despite the best efforts of West German broadcasters to cover the whole of the East. This led to Dresden and the surrounding area being called "Tal der Ahnungslosen" ("The Valley of the Clueless"), because its citizens only had access to the propaganda of East Germany. ARD was said to stand for "Außer ("except") Rügen und Dresden" or rather "Außer Raum Dresden" ("except/outside of Dresden area").

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