Over there, soaring above the trees, stands the Fernmeldeturm Sch\u00e4ferberg. It is not just a tower. It is a testament to Berlin’s resilience and technological prowess.
The Fernmeldeturm Sch\u00e4ferberg is a telecommunications tower. You can find it atop the Sch\u00e4ferberg hill in Berlin-Wannsee. Construction took place between 1961 and 1964. It is not open to the public. Deutsche Funkturm owns and operates the site.
At 212 meters tall, the Fernmeldeturm Sch\u00e4ferberg is Berlin’s third-highest structure. Only the Fernsehturm and Sender Scholzplatz are taller. Its steel-reinforced concrete shaft rises to 187 meters. The tower has six floors for technical equipment between 101 and 132 meters. It houses transmitters for digital television. Analog FM radio and digital radio also transmit from here.
Back in 1964, the Fernmeldeturm Sch\u00e4ferberg played a crucial role. It helped establish radio links to West Germany. Berlin was geographically isolated. Unusual measures were needed. The tower used directional antennas for connections. It linked to Gartow at 250 MHz and 400 MHz. Tropospheric scatter at 2 GHz connected it to Torfhaus.
The Fernmeldeturm Sch\u00e4ferberg had two large parabolic reflector antennas. Each was 18 meters in diameter. They were mounted on the tower’s lower portion. These antennas were removed in 1996. The tower had to withstand triple the wind load. This was more than the Stuttgart TV tower. The concrete shaft is 12 meters in diameter at the bottom. Its wall thickness is 55 centimeters.
A free-standing steel framework tower stands next to the Fernmeldeturm Sch\u00e4ferberg. It once held two 10-meter parabolic aerials. These also linked to Torfhaus. Now, it mainly supports cellular network aerials.
Since 2001, the Fernmeldeturm Sch\u00e4ferberg has transmitted medium wave radio. It broadcasts on 1485 kHz in DRM mode. The tower was not designed for this range. So, a long wire aerial was installed.
In 1959, a 45-meter steel lattice tower was built on Sch\u00e4ferberg. It had two 10-meter parabolic antennas. This was to relieve the Nikolassee radio relay station. It tested tropospheric scatter radio in the 2-GHz range. It transmitted with 1 kW using a klystron. The final setup had 360 telephone channels. The counterpart was the Torfhaus radio relay station.
Construction of the Fernmeldeturm Sch\u00e4ferberg began in 1961. Concrete was poured into the 13-meter-deep foundation. The foundation had a diameter of 71.6 meters. The shell was completed by the end of October 1962. The 186.5-meter-high tower shaft has a diameter of 12 meters at the bottom. At 97 meters, below the operating floors, the diameter is 6.91 meters. The wall thickness reduces from 75 centimeters to 55 centimeters.
Initially, connections in the 250-MHz range were made. These linked to the H\u00f6hbeck radio relay station. Square lattice structures served as directional antennas. High transmission power exploited radio wave diffraction. The full expansion offered 2400 telephone channels. These systems were shut down in 1991.
In 1966, two 18-meter Cassegrain parabolic antennas were installed. These were for scatter radio links to Torfhaus. They weighed 10 tons each. Their mounting structure added five tons each. The Fernmeldeturm Sch\u00e4ferberg was designed for greater stress. This was due to the 30-ton antenna system. The tower’s wind-exposed area was 780 square meters. The tower’s tip deflection was about 20 centimeters in weak wind. It reached a maximum of 1.7 meters.
The first connections from Fernmeldeturm Sch\u00e4ferberg to Torfhaus began in 1967. At full capacity, three operating lines with 960 analog telephone channels each were established. These also allowed the transmission of two analog television programs. The large parabolic mirrors were dismantled in 1996.
As you stand before the Fernmeldeturm Sch\u00e4ferberg, consider its vital role. It has shaped Berlin’s communication landscape. It stands as a symbol of innovation and connection.