Viewing platform

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Viewing platform on Mount
Oarashi ( Japan )

A viewing platform is usually a raised platform from which a selected view emerges. Platforms of this type can be part of a building, for example a tower , or they can be erected in the natural topography, such as on a hilltop or the edge of a ravine; in the latter case often called Skyway / -walk (way to heaven) , respectively.

Viewing platforms as an independent structure

A viewing platform is usually provided with a railing or a parapet , and a protective grille can also be attached. There are also fully glazed constructions. Open platforms are more suitable for looking and taking photos , as there are no annoying reflections.

There are permanently installed telescopes on many viewing platforms , which allow a view into the distance after inserting a coin. Some platforms have seating, a kiosk and / or a café.

Viewing platforms in buildings and other objects

In addition to the classic observation towers , which also have a viewing platform, there are also numerous other structures, technical systems and other objects that are equipped with a viewing platform.

Watchtowers

Watchtower of the Berlin Wall

Watchtowers are equipped with a viewing platform so that you can see their surroundings. If they are no longer used, they can be made accessible to the public. A special feature are the reconstructed watchtowers of the Roman Limes and other historical fortifications in Germany, some of which are equipped with a viewing platform.

Transmission towers

View of downtown
Toronto from the open air platform of the CN Tower

Since before the Second World War almost all radio traffic was handled in the long, medium and short wave range, transmission towers with viewing platforms were only built after the Second World War with the advent of radio services in the VHF range, for which the tower is only a supporting structure. The closed reinforced concrete construction was almost always used for this. Transmission towers with viewing platforms are often used to broadcast television programs or for radio relay services. As a rule, an elevator is available for visitors to the viewing platform in these structures .

In many of these towers there is also a restaurant, which can also be designed as a revolving restaurant . In Germany, the Berlin television tower , the Mannheim telecommunications tower , the Olympic tower in Munich and the Rhine tower in Düsseldorf have such a facility.

In the case of the Berlin television tower, however, the combination of uses also posed a problem. There it was noticed during the first test broadcasts that tensions would arise on the tower, which would have unpleasant consequences for careless visitors, and so the tower was grounded via the elevator shaft, but this deflected the main beam direction of the transmitter away from the actual coverage area, the urban area of ​​Berlin.

While tower restaurants are always housed in closed rooms to protect restaurant guests from the wind, the viewing platform can be open or glazed. Viewing platforms on television towers are only open at certain times and their access is usually only possible upon payment of an entrance fee. In Germany, the three telecommunications towers Bredstedt , Bungsberg and Jakobsberg have a public platform accessible free of charge via an outside staircase .

Skyscrapers

Numerous high-rise buildings also have viewing platforms, sometimes even a restaurant. The height of these platforms, which can be open or glazed and mostly located on the top floor, depends on the height of the building. As a rule, access, which almost always requires the payment of an entrance fee, takes place with an elevator and is only possible during opening hours.

Water towers

Numerous water towers also have a mostly unglazed viewing platform that is open to the public, the height of which is usually 10 to 50 meters, as with the older viewing towers. It can be reached via stairs or an elevator, depending on the tower. Some water towers also have a tower restaurant.

Viewing platforms of water towers are almost always only accessible on payment of a fee during opening hours.

Steeples

Some church towers, such as Cologne Cathedral , also have viewing platforms. However, an elevator is very rarely available here. Entering this platform is only possible during the opening times and, in contrast to visiting the church, usually only upon payment of an entrance fee.

The height of the viewing platform is usually between 20 and 50 meters. The platform is almost always unglazed.

Lighthouses

Some lighthouses have a viewing platform that is open to the public. As a rule, it is only possible to take a flight of stairs during the opening times of the tower and pay an entrance fee. The lighthouse's viewing platform, which is usually between 10 and 50 meters high, is almost always unglazed.

Sports facilities

Some sports facilities also have tall structures with viewing platforms. This is often the case with ski jumping hills , as they have a tower and are mostly inoperative in summer. But there are also viewing opportunities at other sports facilities, such as the supporting tower of the roof of the Olympic Stadium in Montreal . At almost all sports facilities with a viewing platform, access to the platform is only possible during the opening hours and requires payment of an entrance fee. Depending on the structure, access can be via a lift or stairs.

The platforms can be glazed or open. The height above ground is usually between 10 and 50 meters.

Monuments

Some tower-like monuments also have viewing platforms that are open to the public. Most of these structures can only be reached by stairs and only rarely by elevator. The platforms are mostly unglazed and are between 10 and 60 meters high. Examples include the Berlin Victory Column , the Völkerschlachtdenkmal , the Hermannsdenkmal and the numerous Bismarck towers.

Bismarck Tower Berg-Assenhausen

Panoramic rides

Another category of "observation towers" are the panoramic rides that are permanently installed in amusement parks or that travel to public festivals, such as ferris wheels , which transport the visitor and the cabin up into the air. The use of panorama rides is always chargeable, time-limited and only possible during operating hours. As a rule, the panorama can be admired from the start of the journey until the maximum height is reached. It is up to 80 meters for portable systems and up to 150 meters for stationary systems.

Further

Other examples are the Thyssenkrupp test tower in Rottweil , its viewing platform at a height of 232 meters is the highest in Germany; the former Henninger Tower in Frankfurt, a grain silo with a tower restaurant and viewing platform; the bell tower of the Berlin Olympic Stadium, the winding tower erected on the area of ​​the mining museum in Bochum , which has an open viewing platform; as well as a wind turbine in the Holtriem wind farm . The mast of a cable car can also serve as a cable car station and a viewing platform, like the Torre Jaume I in Barcelona . There are also occasional viewing platforms on the pillars of suspension bridges, such as on the New Bridge in Bratislava . In many cases an elevator facilitates access. The view of the Grand Canyon is spectacular , as is the case with facilities in the Weser Uplands or over Lake Biggesee, at least with regard to the name.

Basically, for all high structures, sufficient stability, which allows the public to enter safely, is necessary for the installation of a viewing platform.

See also

Web links

Commons : viewing platform  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

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