The TV tower is not only one of Stuttgart's most famous landmarks, it also boasts a world record: it was the world's first TV tower made of reinforced concrete.
Yet it was not actually supposed to exist: When television operations resumed in the early 1950s, a transmitter was missing in Stuttgart. Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR) planned a 200 meter high steel lattice tower. By chance, Fritz Leonhardt, a government architect, heard about the project and convinced those responsible at SDR that such a lattice mast would disfigure Stuttgart's elevation. Instead of a simple mast, an observation tower with a café was to be built. Construction work began on June 10, 1954, and after a construction period of only 20 months, the tower was inaugurated on February 5, 1956.
The TV tower in Stuttgart is a good 217 meters high. With its viewing platform and gastronomic offerings, it is popular not only with tourists but also with locals. In good weather, visitors can see as far as the Swabian Alb from the tower's basket. The only thing is that it no longer fulfills its original function: since July 2006, the television program is no longer broadcast from the television tower, but from the neighboring telecommunications tower.
