The
Florianturm (Florian Tower,
Florian for short) is a landmark of
DortmundDortmund is a city in Germany, located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 587,830 makes it the 7th-largest city in Germany, and 34th-largest in the European Union....
(
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
). It is named after Florian, the
patron saintA patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, or person. Patron saints, because they have already transcended to the metaphysical, are able to intercede effectively for the needs of their special charges...
of gardeners.
The Florianturm is the TV tower of Dortmund and was built in 1959 as an attraction for a federal
horticulturalHorticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Some would say that horticulture is the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant...
show with a height of 219.6 metres. At the time it was briefly the highest freestanding structure in Germany.
The tower was constructed similarly to a high
concreteConcrete is a construction material composed of cement as well as other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water, and chemical admixtures...
chimneyA chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
. It consists of a reinforced concrete tube, which tapers off as it rises, reaching a height of 129.75 metres. At 130.6 metres there is a building part with two floors. On the lower floor there are operation rooms and on the upper floor at 137.54 metres there is a
revolving restaurantA revolving restaurant is a restaurant on a revolving floorplate. The building remains stationary and the diners are carried on the revolving floor. The revolving rate varies between one and three times per hour and enables the visitors of the tower restaurant to enjoy a panoramic view without...
. At 141.88 metres and 144.7 metres there are two observation decks.
On the upper observation deck there are installations and
aerialAerial can mean:Sport*Aerial skiing, discipline of Freestyle Skiing.Devices*Antenna , radio or television antenna*Aerial apparatus, device used for firefighting and rescue*Aerial telescope, late 17th century tubeless telescope...
s of
Deutsche TelekomDeutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
. Since 1959 it has been used for transmitting television signals.
On September 7, 2004, a
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n
helicopterA helicopter is an aircraft that is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades. Helicopters are classified as rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft to distinguish them from fixed-wing aircraft because the helicopter achieves lift with the...
was used to replace the aerial. Since then, a 50-kilowatt transmitter has transmitted
digital terrestrial televisionDigital Terrestrial Television is the technological evolution and advance from analogue terrestrial television, which broadcasts land based signals...
programmes for the Dortmund area.
Since September 7, 2004 the Florianturm has a height of 208.56 metres, making it the fourteenth highest structure in Germany.
From 1996 to 1998 the tower was renovated and safety standards were brought up to date.
In 2000 a catwalk for bungee-jumping was opened on the upper platform. It was closed in 2003 after a fatal accident but has not yet been uninstalled.
Data
- architect: Will Schwarz, Dortmund
- construction time: May 1958 – April 1959
- depth of basement: 8.10 m, the lowest part of the substructure is 110.3 m above sea level
- diameter of basement: 25 m
- thickness of basement plate: 2.5 m
- total weight: approx. 7,700 t
- volume of cement: approx. 1,385 t
- total weight of concrete: approx. 3,400 m³
- total weight of steel: approx. 660 t
- stability ratio: 3.5x
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