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The Vilnius TV Tower is a 326.5 metre-high (1071 ft) building in the Karoliniškes
Karoliniškes

Karolini?kes is a microdistrict and elderate of Vilnius, Lithuania. The district was started to be built in year 1971, and because of its geographical location, became an important part of Vilnius city....
 microdistrict
Microdistrict

Microdistrict, or microraion , is a residential compound?a primary structural element of the residential area construction in the Soviet Union and in some post-Soviet states....
 of Vilnius
Vilnius

Vilnius is the largest city and the Capital of Lithuania, with a population of 555,613 as of 2008. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality....
, Lithuania
Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest....
. It is the tallest building in Lithuania, and is occupied by the SC Lithuanian Radio and Television Centre (Lithuanian: AB Lietuvos radijo ir televizijos centras).






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Vilnius Tv Tower
The Vilnius TV Tower is a 326.5 metre-high (1071 ft) building in the Karoliniškes
Karoliniškes

Karolini?kes is a microdistrict and elderate of Vilnius, Lithuania. The district was started to be built in year 1971, and because of its geographical location, became an important part of Vilnius city....
 microdistrict
Microdistrict

Microdistrict, or microraion , is a residential compound?a primary structural element of the residential area construction in the Soviet Union and in some post-Soviet states....
 of Vilnius
Vilnius

Vilnius is the largest city and the Capital of Lithuania, with a population of 555,613 as of 2008. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality....
, Lithuania
Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest....
. It is the tallest building in Lithuania, and is occupied by the SC Lithuanian Radio and Television Centre (Lithuanian: AB Lietuvos radijo ir televizijos centras). The tower is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers
World Federation of Great Towers

The World Federation of Great Towers is an association of tall towers and skyscrapers from around the world. It was created in 1989. The key criterion for inclusion in the WFGT is that the building in question must have a public observation deck....
.

The building was designed by V. Obydovas, the engineering section was designed by K. Balenas. The construction of the tower started on May 31, 1974, and the tower was completed on December 30, 1980. The weight of the whole structure is estimated at 25,000--30,000 tonnes (A metric ton). The structure is composed of a concrete base, a 190 m long hollow reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete is concrete in which steel reinforcement bars or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen a material that would otherwise be brittle....
 pipe, a reinforced concrete saucer, and a 136 m long steel spike. Radio transmitters are housed in the lower part of the concrete tower with antennas attached to the steel spike.

The TV tower played a major role in the events of January 13, 1991, when 14 unarmed civilians lost their lives and 700 were injured opposing the Soviet military seizure of the tower.

The observation deck 160 m from the ground houses the cafe "Paukšciu takas" (Lithuanian for Milky Way
Milky Way

The Milky Way, sometimes called simply the Galaxy, is the galaxy in which the Solar System is located. It is a barred spiral galaxy that is part of the Local Group of galaxies....
), offers a picturesque view of the city and its surroundings, and sports a rotating platform that revolves once every 45 minutes. High-speed elevators reach the cafe from ground level in 40 seconds. On clear days, visibility can extend as far as Elektrenai
Elektrenai

Elektrenai is a city of about 14,000 inhabitants in Lithuania; since 2000 it is the capital of the Elektrenai municipality. It is conveniently situated between the two largest cities in Lithuania ? Vilnius and Kaunas....
, a city about 40 km west, where power plants produced much of the electricity for Vilnius in Soviet times.

Bungee jumps
Bungee jumping

Bungee jumping is an activity that involves jumping from a tall structure while connected to a large elastic cord. The tall structure is usually a fixed object, such as a building, bridge or crane; but it is also possible to jump from a movable object, such as a Hot air balloon or helicopter, that has the ability to hover over one spot o...
 are available to the public from the roof of the observation deck. A small museum dedicated to the January 1991 battle is housed on the ground floor, and various markers in the surrounding area indicate places where Lithuanian citizens died while trying to maintain the blockade against Soviet troops.

Since 2000, the tower has been decorated like a huge Christmas tree each Christmas season. During the 2006 World Basketball Championship
2006 FIBA World Championship

The 2006 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Japan from August 19 to September 3, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation , Japan Basketball Association and the 2006 Organizing Committee....
 it was decorated with a huge basketball net.

See also

  • List of towers
    List of towers

    These are lists of towers that fall under the definition of a tower which is a tall man-made structure, always taller than it is wide. Towers are generally built to take advantage of their height and can stand alone or as part of a larger structure....
  • List of tallest freestanding structures in the world
    List of tallest freestanding structures in the world

    This is a list of tallest freestanding structures in the world past and present. It does not include supported structures like guyed masts, partially guyed towers and drilling platforms....


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