Danube Tower

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Danube Tower
Image of the object
Basic data
Place: Vienna
State: Vienna
Country: Austria
Altitude : 164  m above sea level A.
Coordinates: 48 ° 14 ′ 24.8 "  N , 16 ° 24 ′ 36.3"  E
Use: Observation tower, revolving restaurant ,
VHF radio transmitter , measuring station
Tower data
Construction time : 1962 to 1964
Last renovation (tower) : 2010 and 2018
Total height : 252  m
Total mass : 17,600  t
Data on the transmission system
Further data
Status: Highest building in Austria
Architect: Hannes Lintl
Structural engineer: Robert Krapfenbauer
Laying of the foundation stone: October 12, 1962
Owner: Guntram Fessler, Gilbert Leeb, Matthias Kamp and Blaguss Reisen GmbH
Architect (2010): Christian Lintl
(renovation and full glazing of the " children's terrace ")
Architect (2019): Gregor Eichinger
(tower renovation and extensions on the ground)
Floor space: 113 m²
Opening: April 16, 1964
Viewing platforms: Terraces: 150 m, 155 m; Restaurants: 160 m, 170 m; Central floor: 165 m
Volume of concrete: 3750 m³
Mass of reinforcing steel : 514 t
Shaft height: 181.95 m
Position map
Danube Tower (Vienna)
Danube Tower
Danube Tower
Localization of Vienna in Austria

The Donauturm is an observation tower on the edge of the Danube Park in the 22nd district of  Vienna, Donaustadt . It was built from 1962 to 1964 on the occasion of the Vienna International Garden Show .

The Danube Tower is one of the landmarks of Vienna , a widely visible advertising medium and a popular excursion destination and, at 252 meters, replaced St. Stephen's Cathedral as the tallest building in Austria. Since the Bisamberg transmission masts were dismantled in 2010, it is again the tallest structure in Austria as a whole .

The two revolving restaurants are located in the tower head , which is the tower café at a height of 160 meters and the tower restaurant at a height of 170 meters. The original pavilion with the entrance area is located at the base of the tower, followed by a restaurant. After extensive renovation and expansion work, this was renamed "Donaucafé" in 2019. In addition, another restoration was added with the “Donaubräu”. In addition to tourist use, the tower also serves as a transmitter and measuring station for recording the weather and monitoring pollutant levels.

In 2015, a consortium consisting of the Blaguss Group , Guntram Fessler (Smile Group), Gilbert Leeb and Matthias Kamp from Unicredit Bank Austria acquired their 95 percent stake in the Donauturm. In 2017, the investor community also acquired the remaining roughly five percent of the shares, which had been owned by the Schwechater Brewery and thus also by the Brau Union since the beginning.

history

Planning and construction

The Danube Tower was built for the Vienna International Garden Show in 1964 ( WIG 64 ). The design comes from the architect Hannes Lintl , the engineer Robert Krapfenbauer carried out the structural analysis. The official laying of the foundation stone took place on October 12, 1962, when the foundation was finished, and on April 16, 1964, Federal President Adolf Schärf officially opened the tower - after around 20 months of construction under the direction of Eberhard Födisch. In the spring of 1964, the laying of the foundation stone was installed in a copper shell in the floor in the entrance area of ​​the tower.

The City of Vienna commissioned the Donauturm Aussichtsturm- und Restaurantbetriebsgesellschaft mbH to build the tower and is still the operator of the Danube Tower today. From 1962 to the end of 2015, 95% of the former central savings bank under public law of the municipality of Vienna , today part of Unicredit Bank Austria through intermediate companies, and 5% of the former Schwechat brewery , today Brau Union , were the shareholders of the Danube Tower. The property was provided by the City of Vienna and transferred to the Donauturm Liegenschaftsverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH , founded on May 4, 1962 , which was also indirectly owned by the shareholders UniCredit Bank and Brau Union (5.15%) until the sale at the end of 2015. 94.85% of this was done through Ekazent , a former direct subsidiary of the Zentralsparkasse, which helped develop the Danube Tower. In 2015, Unicredit Bank Austria sold its majority stake in the Donauturm to the current owners.

Since opening

The buildings of the International Horticultural Exhibition 1964 and the Danube Tower in the background

On the occasion of the International Airmail Exhibition in Vienna on June 6, 1968, seven balloons were to be launched. Three remained on the ground due to technical problems, three more balloons went up and passed the tower without any problems. However, due to pilot errors, the fourth balloon did not gain height quickly enough and was driven in a zigzag straight against the tower, where it initially got stuck on the safety bars on the parapet of the lower viewing platform. After the connection ropes to the balloon were torn off, the basket with the passengers crashed. The balloon that was freed as a result then floated further and sank some distance from the Danube Tower. When the basket crashed, the American balloonist Francis Shields (1921–1968), the senior civil servant in the postal and telegraph administration Guntram Pammer (1915–1968) and the young journalist Dieter Kasper (1944–1968) from the APA perished.

In 1969, students from the higher technical colleges in Klagenfurt and Villach built a 1:25 scale model of the tower for Minimundus . In 1974 the international culinary art exhibition took place in the kitchen of the Danube Tower.

Tower with Pope's Cross

On the occasion of the Pope's visit in 1983 , a Holy Mass took place at the foot of the tower on September 11th , which was celebrated by John Paul II and attended by around 300,000 believers. In 1990 the Danube Tower was part of the Jamboree on the air of the scouts for two days , who together with radio amateurs broadcast messages of international understanding and peace around the globe. In 1991 the operating company received the state award and has been allowed to use the federal coat of arms in business transactions ever since .

Since autumn 2002 (according to another source since May 2003) the Danube Tower has been one of the permitted wedding locations outside the Vienna registry offices . The ceremonies take place on the glassed-in terrace of the tower.

In 2015, Bank Austria announced that it wanted to sell its majority stake that it had held since the tower was opened, back then as the Wiener Zentralsparkasse. Bank Austria, now part of the Italian Unicredit Group, wanted to withdraw to its core business in the banking sector. The tower was up for sale from February, and in August the Austrian Blaguss Group, a transport and tourism company, entered the market as a bidder. On December 14, 2015, the magazine “Forbes Austria” reported that the sale to Paul Blaguss, souvenir wholesaler Guntram Fessler, the owner of the Albertina Passage, Matthias Kamp, and other investors within the group took place. No purchase price was given, but real estate professionals estimate it at 10 million euros. The tower was structurally in good condition and asbestos was removed in January 2016 . 70 of the around 100 jobs to date should remain after the sale. In 2017, 450,000 visitors were recorded. Around half of the visitors come from abroad, the rest come from Austria or Vienna. Bank Austria, now part of the Italian Unicredit Group, is again concentrating on its core business in the banking sector.

Renovation and expansion

Between January 2018 and March 2019, extensive renovation, conversion and extension work took place in the Danube Tower itself and in the associated ground-level operating parts. For the modernization and return to the style of the 1960s and for the technical adaptations and the expansion, around ten million. Euros invested. The renovation and renovation work was carried out with the Austrian architect Gregor Eichinger in close cooperation with the Federal Monuments Office (BDA).

In the first phase, the Danube Tower was therefore closed from mid-January to mid-May 2018, with the tower café and the tower restaurant above being renovated on the two revolving levels in the pulpit. Interactive panorama screens were installed on the two viewing levels that provide information about the sights to be viewed in eight languages.

After the renovation of the tower, the ground floor part was renovated or expanded in a second step. A video wall was added in the entrance area, showing the history of towers and the human fascination with heights. In addition, touchwalls were installed on which quizzes and stories about the tower, Vienna and Austria's facets are shown. In addition, the range of restaurants on offer has been expanded: the newly built pavilion houses the Danube café and the Donaubräu, including the guest garden. The interior is also based on the 1960s. Works by the Italian-American artist Nicola Verlato can be seen on the ceiling of the Danube Brewery.

In April 2019, the Danube Tower also started its own shuttle service. This is electrically operated and takes visitors from the underground stations "U1 Alte Donau" and "U6 Neue Donau" to the Danube Tower in 5 minutes.

After the official procedures for operation were largely completed in early 2019, the Danube Tower was officially reopened on March 19, 2019.

description

Danube Tower and its surroundings

The 252 meter high tower was erected in the 1950s and 60s according to the " tower construction method that has since emerged ". At the time of the opening, the Danube Tower was Europe's highest reinforced concrete tower and Austria's first building to be built using scaffolding-free slipform technology based on the Siemcrete IN system from Siemens Bauunion . The clear structure of the tower shaft, tower cage and tubular steel mast as well as the construction as a slim tube in reinforced concrete construction resembles the towers based on the model of the Stuttgart television tower in terms of design and construction technology . Although the Danube Tower was never intended to accommodate television broadcasting systems, it is called a television tower by some authors of the building and architecture literature because of its design as a head tower, its static alignment and the existing ring foundation and the erection during the first worldwide tower construction wave .

The total weight of the tower shaft with tower cage and foundation with earth load is around 17,000 tons. The reinforced concrete tower consists of 3750 cubic meters of concrete and 514 tons of reinforcing steel . According to the laying of the foundation stone, 100 tons of profile steel and 50 tons of aluminum should have been used for the tower head construction, and 50 tons of steel for the tubular steel mast.

Statics

From a static point of view, the tower structure is a cantilever beam that is flexibly clamped in the subsoil , the decisive loads of which are the dead weight in the axial direction and the wind perpendicular to the structure axis. While according to Krapfenbauer (1964) the traffic loads did not play a significant role in the static calculation, earthquake loads and the material stresses arising from the temperature differences between the tower half exposed to the sun and the half in the shadow had to be taken into account. The static calculations were carried out - analogous to similar towers - as for a chimney, taking into account ÖNORM EN B 4000, B 4006 (§ 6) and B 4200, as well as using DIN 4114. According to Krapfenbauer (1964), the buckling safety of the tower shaft is far above the value of 2.50 required by ÖNORM. This was achieved, among other things, by stiffening the tower shaft with three horizontal platforms, which function as the main landings and are made with relatively light steel girders, which at the same time represent the pedestal girders of the staircase.

foundation

The foundation is established at a depth of eight meters. The foundation base consists of a circular ring with an outside diameter of 31 meters, an inside diameter of 10.2 meters and a floor area of ​​755 square meters. The outer truncated cone shell with a wall thickness of 70 cm and the inner circular cylinder shell with a wall thickness of 55 cm were concreted on this perforated plate . The cylindrical shell represents the extension of the tower shaft with a constant outer diameter of 12.0 meters, which is clamped in the foundation cone up to the base surface in a ring foundation . At the level of the floor, in the intersection of the cylinder and the truncated cone shell, there is also a horizontal pressure ring that reinforces the edge of the openwork ceiling on the zero level. Holes were cut out on the outer edge of the circular base plate in order to enable a pile foundation if necessary .

A total load of around 17,000 tons is transferred from the foundation base to the subsoil (gravel with sand from 6.0 to 13.5 meters deep), which is divided into 4,700 tons for the foundation itself, 5,600 tons of earth load on the foundation, 6,300 tons from the shaft and the gondola, and 400 tons from the elevator shaft. In addition, the foundation transfers a clamping torque of around 360 kNm from the wind load to the subsurface .

Tower shaft

Tower shaft in the lower view, in the lower area with solar panels

The shaft diameter is 12 meters at ground level, the tower tapers in a concave curvature towards the top to 6.2 meters in diameter at a height of 145 meters. Furthermore, the tower shaft has a constant diameter up to its upper end at a height of 181.95 meters. According to the laying of the foundation stone from 1962, the Danube Tower was to be 260 meters high, 180 meters of which were intended for the reinforced concrete shaft and 80 meters for the tubular steel mast sitting on it. The foundation stone certificate was incorrectly labeled on this point, as the dimensioning of the 260 meters refers to the total height including the eight meter deep foundation, but the total height above ground is only 252 meters. After deducting the shaft height of around 182 meters, starting at ground level, around 70 meters remain for the tubular steel mast instead of the 80 meters specified in the foundation stone certificate.

In the second half of the tower shaft, you can climb the tower to the viewing terrace via a staircase with 779 steps and 60 platforms. However, the stairwell is only accessible in emergencies.

Viewing terraces

At a height of 150 meters, the open viewing terrace in the form of a spherical equilateral triangle encloses the tower shaft, which can be reached directly via an elevator station. The supporting structure consists of a conical reinforced concrete shell in which the lower chords of the 24 steel radial formwork girders are concreted. On top of it is a circular reinforced concrete slab that represents the terrace, which is designed for a load of 400 people. The southern corner of the triangle points towards St. Stephen's Cathedral .

The viewing terrace is secured by a 1.30 meter high, inwardly inclined concrete parapet, on which originally a high, upwardly open safety grille with inwardly curved points was attached, which was later replaced by a closed mesh basket that extends up to the so-called “children's terrace”. This level, set back to the large terrace, with a diameter of 14.20 meters, is 152.46 ("155") meters high and is supported on the viewing terrace by means of 24 square cross-section steel columns, each 2.60 meters high. On this terrace there was only one handrail all around with a step-through protection, through which children could look into the distance without the help of the adults, but not directly down.

After the construction, the space between the two terraces was closed by a slightly recessed glazing that was barely noticeable from the site. This not only provided a viewing area protected against bad weather, but also a closed space between the lift exit point and the viewing terrace. However, the children's terrace and the stairs were outdoors. In 2000, the old glazing was removed and full-surface glazing was built around the previous children's terrace to protect against the often strong wind , so that a two-story closed room was created from the floor of the viewing terrace to the supporting structure of the gondola, now known as the "indoor terrace". The upper floor is now also used for events such as weddings. The glass cylinder, which is now clearly visible from afar, has created a new appearance for the terrace and tower head and has lost their clear visual and structural separation. At the same time, the safety grille on the viewing terrace was replaced by a “cage” that reached up to the glass cylinder.

The lower, large terrace can be reached directly via the elevator station at a height of 150 meters. From the third elevator station on the mezzanine floor of the tower cage, one arrives via the anteroom of the tower café level to a staircase which, first closed through the supporting structure / technical floor and then rounded around the tower shaft, leads to the original children's and today's indoor terrace. From here another staircase leads down the shaft to the viewing terrace.

  • 360-degree view of Vienna : on the left you can see the skyscrapers of Donau City .

Tower cage

The tower basket (2018) with a current advertisement
Tower cage with bungee jumping platform (until 2018)

The structure of the closed tower cage, which the builders also refer to as the gondola or tower head , begins at a height of 155.9 meters, similar to the observation terrace, with a conical reinforced concrete shell. This widens to a height of 158.9 meters to form the largest outer radius of the tower cage of 9.30 meters. Inside the reinforced concrete shell there is an installation floor at 157.4 meters. The two upper floors and the roof of the tower cage are cantilevered steel structures, with the roof being suspended from the tower shaft with inclined tie rods.

When ascending from the children's terrace via a spiral staircase wrapped around the tower shaft, which leads to the tower café level, the lowest of the three public levels of the gondola, you pass the access door to the installation floor.

The central floor is at a height of 165 meters. On this access level, in one half of the circle, there is the uppermost elevator station, the main exit, with a kind of anteroom. To the left and right of the elevator there are large viewing windows that can be reached via two platforms. Located on the outside are the toilets with windows, which also allow a view of the surroundings. The second half of the level, separated from the public area, is reserved for the kitchen, which is connected to the two dining areas of the gondola by two kitchen elevators.

Two rather narrow double staircases with an intermediate landing lead from the central floor to the revolving restaurants above and below . The coffee level is at 161.15 ("160"), the restaurant level at 169.4 ("170") meters.

As planned by the architect, the revolving restaurants were operated as a café and restaurant when they opened and for most of the time. Originally, the interior was largely identical. Usually, tables for six or eight people each stood with the narrow side on the outer wall, so that there was a total of 130 people per level. Today the tower restaurant is equipped with tables for two, four and eight and the lower tower café is mixed with tables for six, eight and smaller four. Both platforms offer a varied view of the Austrian capital and, depending on the weather, up to around 80 km away. On the fixed, suspended ceiling there are radial direction indicators to prominent vantage points.

The two revolving stages with the table areas of the restaurants, for the first time in the world with rotating glass facades, are each placed on 96 rubber-bearing rollers on the supporting structure. Via separate rotating devices from MAN Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nürnberg, they are driven by an electric motor on each level with a three-speed gearbox from pinion to slewing ring . This results in a rotation time of 26, 39 or 52 minutes per full rotation for each of the two restaurants. In order to replace the rollers due to wear, the elements of guide rails with several rollers each can be removed in each of the two maintenance levels below the turntable. The individually removed element is dismantled, the roles swapped, then assembled and put back in its place. The same procedure then takes place with the next element. The rollers are continuously serviced: Every year in January, when the Danube Tower is closed for maintenance work for a few days, individual rollers of the slewing ring are replaced or renewed.

Steel mast

The steel mast is clamped over 1.20 meters in the end plate of the tower shaft, which is provided with appropriate reinforcement. The mast begins visibly at a height of 181.95 and has a total length of 68.05 meters up to its upper end at 250 meters. The uppermost area of ​​the steel mast, above the upper logo, is implemented as a Scruton helix to reduce the wind susceptibility - a screw-like winding that acts as a disruptive body. Another 2 meter high structure is placed off-center on the edge of the mast, resulting in the well-known 252 meter height of the Danube Tower. The structure houses a wind measuring device and a lightning protection system at the very top .

Danube tower with upper and lower old logo (July 2012)

From the completion of the Danube Tower in 1964 to more than three decades, the rotating triple “Z” of the Zentralsparkasse was located in around 225 m and remained so for more than three decades.

In 1998, the “Z” and its substructure with the three circular frames were dismantled and instead, with the help of a helicopter, a new substructure was installed to accommodate only two logo sides. The logo, the “Red Wave” of Bank Austria, which also rotates around the mast axis , was attached to this structure. The two halves of the logo were each 10 meters long and 6.5 meters high. The substructure and the double logo, which weighed around 3.5 tons, weighed around 17.6 tons.

Around February 2008, the Bank Austria logo was removed to make way for the new company logo of what is now “UniCredit Bank Austria”. The two circular frames with the logo, which had previously been assembled on the ground, were mounted on the remaining logo structure in September 2008, again with the help of a helicopter. The weight of the entire structure including the new logo remained almost unchanged at around 17.6 tons.

Just above the tower shaft at a height of around 189 meters, the rotating triple “ Schwechater ” logo in the form of a white stylized beer glass in a white circle was attached for more than three decades from 1964 .

In the course of the 1990s the fluorescent tubes were removed from the circle and the stylized beer glass of the “Schwechater” logo in order to later mount the A1 logo of Mobilkom Austria on the preserved circular frame . After its removal, around February 2008, no replacement was installed for a long time. The construction with the three old “Schwechater” frames remained on the mast and was visible from afar as an empty structure. From 2012 to 2018 this served as an advertising space for the insurance group Uniqa .

The logo of the Novomatic gaming group has been on the round substructure of the Danube Tower since 2018 .

Elevator systems

View into the elevator shaft of the Danube Tower

The two elevators built by Ing. St. Sowitsch & Co. transported a maximum of 15 people each, including the obligatory elevator operator, to the central floor within 35 seconds at 6.10 m / s until January 18, 2010. In the year it opened, these were Europe's fastest express elevators. In Vienna the elevator in the Millennium Tower is about the same speed today . The elevators in the Danube Tower are designed for 1,600 people per hour. There is a viewing window in the elevator roof through which you can watch the journey. The northern elevator was designed as a double-decker elevator and was the first of its kind in Austria. On the lower deck, the main meals are simultaneously transported from the kitchen in the basement to the restaurant. In strong winds the elevators only run at 2.5 m / s, as the movement of the elevator cables could be dangerous due to the possible swaying of the tower. Between January 18 and 29, 2010, the elevators were taken out of service and subjected to a general overhaul after having carried 20 million visitors and covered a distance of 750,000 kilometers. The drive motors and cabins that have been in operation since the opening in 1964 were replaced. In 2010 the elevator systems were refurbished again and brought up to the state of the art in terms of drive and control. Energy savings of more than 40% could be achieved through the use of regenerative drives.

use

Tourism and visitor numbers

The Danube Tower is a defining part of Vienna's cityscape and, as a vantage point, offers a distant view of up to 80 kilometers over the city and its surroundings, with good visibility as far as Rax and Schneeberg to the south, and to Bratislava to the east. It has become a popular and internationally known tourist attraction.

On the Vienna Tourist Board created list of the most visited sights of Vienna the Danube Tower is in 2008 with 419,635 visitors at No. 9. In the years 2000 to 2007 visited thus annually between 358,977 (2003) and 415,000 (2007) people the Danube Tower. The number published by the operating company differs slightly from this: The tower's website reports around 420,000 visitors a year.

In the year it opened, 13 lift operators shared the shifts to carry the 595,134 visitors to the tower, but there were still two-hour waiting times. In 1972 the three millionth visitor was welcomed. In 1982, the year the Brigittenauer Bridge opened , which created a direct connection between the Danube Tower and the motorway network, around 400,000 visitors were recorded. By 1984, in the first 20 years of its existence, the Danube Tower had around seven million visitors.

From 1965 to 1980 the number of visitors developed "unspectacularly" according to the operating company - it was not until 1988 that more than half a million visitors were counted for the first time, half from Austrian and half from foreign guests. Sales increased this year by 13% to 95 million schillings; the equivalent of 6.9 million euros. A year later, the number of visitors reached their highest point so far with around 558,000 visitors.

In 2004, the year of its 40th anniversary, a total of around 16.5 million people had visited the Danube Tower since it opened in 1964: During the anniversary festival from June 4 to 6, 2004, more than 20,000 visitors were counted, 11,000 of them the also go up to the tower. On June 16, 2005, the seventeen millionth guest was received. The Danube Tower managing directors at the time, Gerhard Schrefl and Wolfgang Steinschaden, presented the anniversary visitor with a Danube Tower VIP pass, which enables them and an accompanying person to visit all the skyscrapers of the World Federation of Great Towers free of charge , including the Danube Tower , for a lifetime .

The steel mast as an advertising medium

Two large neon- lit advertising signs , supplied by Siemens- Schuckertwerke , were placed on the steel mast at a height of 225.4 meters and 188.9 meters . These were the logos of the two owner companies Zentralsparkasse and Schwechat Brewery. According to Krapfenbauer (1964) "these were (at the time of construction) the tallest large-scale neon systems in the world". According to Unicredit Bank Austria , the former Zentralsparkasse, its top advertisement was already one of the tallest rotating advertising logos in the world at the time it was created.

The constructions that could be rotated around the mast axis were the same for both neon advertisements: the company logos were fitted into three circular frames each, mounted in a triangle around the mast. The rotation was driven by a pinion and gear ring.

For several years in the 2000s, part of the tower shaft was also used as an advertising medium. For the retail company Esprit , the upper part of the shaft was wrapped in a red Esprit banner. The length corresponded exactly to the fall distance of the bungee jumpers.

Meteorology and air quality measurement

In the tubular steel mast, which can be accessed via a staircase, there are meteorological devices "which up to now (1962) could not be constantly observed at this height". According to Krapfenbauer (1964), the tubular steel mast also carries equipment for measuring radioactivity in the air and a relay station for the police radio .

Measuring stations have been located on the viewing terrace at a height of 150 meters since 1964: the ZAMG records weather data such as temperature, humidity and wind speed, the Physics Institute of the University of Vienna operates a measuring station for immission measurements, since then carbon dioxide and aerosols have been measured . In February 1969, an additional system for " carbon monoxide + hydrocarbons measurement" was installed. The measurement results formed the basis for an air alarm plan and an air pollution law.

When the tower was built, future use as a meteorological and immission measuring station was taken into account. Therefore, recesses for measuring devices and support points were planned in the concrete shaft. With the inclusion of the tubular steel mast, it is possible to observe the continuous change in the temperature stratification of the atmosphere (inversion) up to a height of about 200 meters.

Use for sports and events

Bungee jumper shortly before the jump. Bungee jumping was possible on the Danube Tower from 2001 to 2018.

In 1992 the first flight of stairs was started. The winner completed the 776  steps in the tower shaft in 4:02 minutes. The record holder for the men is Markus Zahlbruckner with a time of 3: 31.71 minutes. In 2004 the steps for the Danube Tower were counted anew and a marking was made every 10 steps. Since then, 779 steps and 60 platforms have been specified. Andrea Mayr set the women's record in 2008 in a time of 4: 04.70 minutes. The attendance record was set in 2003 with 389 athletes. In 2009 the run could not be carried out due to preparatory work for the renovation of the lifts. Even after that, the flight of stairs was no longer held; it has been held in the Millennium Tower since 2010 .

A jump ramp for bungee jumps , which opened in April 2001 and was used by around 1,000 people in the same year , was built onto the lower viewing platform . In 2018 it was dismantled again. The ramp was at a height of 152 meters, due to the fact that the system was installed above the concrete railing of the viewing platform. The facility was operated by Jochen Schweizer Events GmbH .

The blind mountaineer Andy Holzer climbed the Danube Tower in 2006 in favor of light in the dark . He needed around 90 minutes for the 150 meters. The via ferrata was dismantled after the action.

The European stair running championships were held from June 20-22, 2014 in the Danube Tower and at two other locations in the nearby Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In addition, the Danube Tower is used for abseiling and rescue exercises, for example by WEGA or rescue organizations.

The use of the tower for a base jumping competition planned for the beginning of September 2013 was not approved by the authorities of the MA64 because it was too dangerous.

Couples can get married on the Danube Tower. The wedding celebration as well as other events for private occasions as well as company celebrations can be booked at the Danube Tower.

Broadcast facilities

Cellular antennas and bungee jumpers

The Danube Tower serves as a carrier for three GSM / UMTS / LTE systems (A1, H3A and Magenta). These were attached to the bottom third of the tower shaft. There are transmitting devices for various radio services on both the tower head and the steel mast. The radio station of the Danube Tower is called WIEN 4.

On the structure originally erected as a lookout tower without radio or telecommunications function, apart from the police radio on the steel mast, VHF transmission equipment was installed on the tower head after the radio and television were liberalized in 1998. Since then, some private regional radio stations have been broadcasting from the Danube Tower, which has the radio station identification "WIEN 4". The following radio programs are currently broadcast from here (as of October 2019):

Frequency
(MHz) 		program RDS PS RDS PI Regionalization ERP
(kW) 		Antenna pattern
round (ND) / directional (D) 		Polarization
horizontal (H) / vertical (V)
92.9 Radio Arabella ARABELLA AC56 - 2.8 D (140 ° –300 °) M.
94.0 Radio orange -orange- AC53 - 0.4 D (230 ° -110 °) H
98.3 98.3 superfly Superfly AC61 - 1.4 D (190 ° -280 °) H
107.3 Radio Stephansdom STEPHANS AC52 - 2 D (160 ° -270 °) M.

The problem with the frequencies used here is that from neighboring Hungary from Kab-hegy , a 600 m high mountain in the Bakony Forest west of Veszprém , on the frequency 93.9 MHz MR2 Petőfi Rádió and on the frequency 107.2 MHz Sláger Rádió transmit or transmit with a transmission strength of 70 kW. Especially on Viennese hills, there is a stronger signal from the Kabhegy than from the Danube Tower, despite the direct view of the tower.

A relay station of the police radio uses the tower.

The tower is the most part the not used ORF belonging Austrian Broadcasting Services (ORS), the FM radio and TV main transmitter stations Kahlenberg on the much higher, and the eastern part of Lower Austria-use Kahlenberg located.

reception

The first representation of the Danube Tower on a stamp of Austrian Post took place on the issue of an eight brands comprehensive series "Vienna invites to the WIPA 1965", which was released on July 20, 1964th The stamp with a face value of 1.50 Schilling and a surcharge of 30 Groschen shows the Vienna skyline in an easterly direction with the Maria am Gestade church and the Danube Tower in the background. The shape of the tower cage deviates from the actual shape, so that when it was taken over into the graphic representation of the brand, it was probably based on a planning sketch.

The Danube Tower can be seen on a block edition of the Austrian Post (Block No. 8, Michel No.  1864) from 1986. The stamp with a face value of six schillings for the Vienna follow-up conference on security and cooperation in Europe shows an isometric aerial view of downtown Vienna from a north-westerly direction and on the edge of the Danube Park with the Danube Tower. The associated first day cover with the date of issue November 4, 1986 shows photographs of St. Stephen's Cathedral , the Ferris wheel and the Danube Tower.

At WIPA 2008, the Austrian Post once again published a stamp showing the buildings in Donau City including the Danube Tower. The self-adhesive stamp (Michel No. 2789) with a face value of 55 cents came out on September 2nd, 2008.

In the 200th episode of Soko Donau , the Danube Tower is the main venue.

Quotes

On the occasion of the special exhibition “Old Vienna. The City That Never Was ” (November 25, 2004 to March 28, 2005) an exhibition catalog was published in the Historical Museum of the City of Vienna . It reads:

"[...] the [...] Danube Tower also fell victim to mockery as a testimony to uncertain prestige memory, because Vienna qualified itself as a 'cosmopolitan city of voluntary humor' with its 'pure agitation' tower."

- Wolfgang Kos , Christian Rapp (2004)

The author of the then current MERIAN travel guide Vienna came to a similar assessment of Vienna and its Danube Tower - using the motifs of placing an observation tower in the plain on the Danube - two decades earlier :

“In Vienna there is a 'television tower' that has nothing to do with television and could not have anything at all. It is located at the lowest point in the city. The misappropriated structure [...] was created in 1964 on the occasion of the Vienna International Garden Show. A lookout tower, created out of pure joy in the mountain air? Rather, it is to be seen as evidence of petty big man addiction, typical for the administration of the post-war years. [...] "

- György Sebestyén (1982)

literature

Books

  • Donauturm observation tower and restaurant operating company mbH (ed.): Klaus Puchleitner: Donauturm Wien. 2010, ISBN 978-3-200-01841-9 .
  • Bundesdenkmalamt (Ed.): Dehio manual. Vienna. X. – XIX. and XXI.-XXIII. District. XXII. District. Danube Tower. Berger, Horn / Wien 1997, ISBN 3-85028-394-1 , p. 661.
  • Felix Czeike : Historical Lexicon Vienna. Volume 2: De-Gy. Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-218-00544-2 , p. 74.
  • Mark Steinmetz: Vienna - The architecture guide. Verlagshaus Braun, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-938780-14-2 , p. 215.
  • Wolfgang Kos, Christian Rapp : Old Vienna. The city that never was. Catalog for the exhibition in the Historical Museum of the City of Vienna. Czernin-Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-7076-0193-5 .

Technical article

  • Rudolf Koller: The Vienna International Garden Show 1964. In: Austrian engineering magazine. Issue 9, 6th year 1963, pp. 312–315 (“E. Bauwerke, Donauturm”).
  • Robert Krapfenbauer : The static and constructive processing of the Danube Tower in Vienna. In: Austrian engineering journal. Issue 5, 7th year 1964, pp. 143–155.
  • Robert Krapfenbauer: Aerodynamic model tests at the Donauturm Vienna. In: IVBH Congress Report. Volume 7, 1964, pp. 91-94. ( here online , PDF)
  • Otto Berger: The express lifts in the Danube Tower. In: Austrian engineering journal. Issue 9, 8th year 1965, pp. 289–291.
  • Peter Clauhs: Vienna International Garden Show (WIG 64). In: Baumeister: magazine for architecture. Issue 8, 61st year 1964
  • Robert Krapfenbauer: Two new tower structures. In: Austrian engineering journal. Issue 1, 9th year 1966, pp. 28–31.

Web links

Wiktionary: Danube Tower  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Danube Tower  - collection of images

Current

Historical

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Renovated Danube Tower open from Easter. In: Vienna. ORF.at , January 11, 2018.
  2. ^ Architects Wien Mitte: Christian Lintl. ( Memento from June 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive ). Short résumé.
  3. ↑ The building was designed as a lookout tower and is also referred to as:
    • Mayor Jonas laid the foundation stone for the "Danube Tower". In: Rathauskorrespondenz. October 12, 1962.
    • Mark Steinmetz: Vienna - The architecture guide. Verlagshaus Braun, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-938780-14-2 , p. 215.
    • Antonia Kreppel, Ruth Jakoby, Pierrette Letondor: Vienna for women. Vienna 1998, p. 58.
    • Österreichische Ingenieur-Zeitschrift: Hrsg .: Österreichischer Ingenieur- und Architekten-Verein. Research Society for Roads, Vienna 1966, p. 29.
    • Felix Czeike: Historical Lexicon Vienna. Volume 2: De-Gy. Kremayr & Scheriau, Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-218-00544-2 , p. 74.
  4. ↑ St. Stephen's Cathedral, with its 137 m high south tower built in 1433, was the tallest structure in Europe for a long time.
  5. ↑ After the 265 m high north mast of the Bisamberg station was blown up on February 24, 2010, the Danube Tower is considered the tallest structure in Austria.
  6. ↑ City area - Statistics: City area 2013 - Geographical key data. Municipality of Vienna; Statistics and Analysis Unit (Municipal Department 5). Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  7. ↑ Donaucafé in Vienna >> New coffee house in the middle of the idyllic Danube Park. Retrieved June 4, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Beer bar opened at the foot of the Danube Tower. February 11, 2019, accessed June 4, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Blaguss Group buys Donauturm. In: Vienna. ORF.at . December 14, 2015, accessed June 4, 2019 .
  10. ^ David Krutzler: Vienna Danube Tower: Renovation, new beer bar and more expensive tickets. In: The Standard . January 11, 2018, accessed June 28, 2019 .
  11. ↑ a b Foundation stone for Vienna's 260-meter tower . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna October 13, 1962, p. 1 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  12. ^ Opening of the Vienna International Garden Show 1964 (WIG 64). In: Rathauskorrespondenz. April 16, 1964.
  13. ↑ The WIG opens - 25,000 on the first day . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna April 17, 1964, p. 1 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  14. ↑ Lintl archive: 40 years of the Danube Tower. Photo of the laying of the foundation stone, October 12, 1962. (No longer available online, May 22, 2011.)
  15. ↑ Lintl archive: 40 years of the Danube Tower. Photo of the laying of the laying of the foundation stone in the floor of the entrance area, spring 1964. (No longer available online, May 22, 2011.)
  16. ↑ Donauturm is for sale. February 9, 2015, accessed June 4, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Press release: Ekazent managing director also joins the management of the Vienna Donauturm Aussichtsturm und Restaurant Betriebs GmbH. ( Memento of September 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ). (PDF), December 29, 2006, Ekazent Immobilienmanagement.
  18. ↑ Balloon accident at the Danube Tower:
  19. ↑ Photo archive. 1969. ( Memento from August 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) On: donauturm.at.
  20. ↑ a b photo archive. 2002. ( Memento from August 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) On: donauturm.at.
  21. ↑ First wedding on the Danube Tower. OTS press release, May 31, 2003.
  22. ↑ Magistrat Wien, MA 35: Places for a dream wedding in Vienna. ( Memento of April 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive ).
  23. ↑ Donauturm is for sale. In: wien.orf.at. February 9, 2015, accessed February 10, 2015 .
  24. ↑ Blaguss Group buys Donauturm. At: orf.at. December 14, 2015, accessed December 14, 2015.
  25. ↑ Vienna visitor numbers: Federal museums announce new visitor record! In: wienkultur.info. Retrieved June 4, 2019 .
  26. ↑ New start of the Danube Tower: Landmark celebrates its official opening. Retrieved June 4, 2019 .
  27. ↑ a b New start of the Danube Tower: landmark celebrates official opening. In: APA-OTS tourism press. Press release of the Blaguss Group, March 20, 2019, accessed on July 24, 2019.
  28. ↑ Vienna Danube Tower reopened after renovation. In: Courier / Agencies. May 28, 2018, accessed June 4, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Top of Vienna - reopening at the Danube Tower. In: APA-OTS tourism press. Press release of the Blaguss Group, May 23, 2018, accessed on February 11, 2019.
  30. ↑ Newly renovated: Vienna's Danube Tower is open again. May 23, 2018, accessed on October 11, 2019 (German).
  31. ↑ Hello in Vienna: Finally for all Viennese & guests. Open the Donaubräu next to the Danube Tower. Retrieved October 11, 2019 (German).
  32. ^ Krapfenbauer: Two new tower structures. P. 28.
  33. ↑ For example, the pillars of the Europabrücke were raised in the same way as the Danube Tower .
  34. ↑ For example in Roman Ciesielski : Containers, bunkers, silos, chimneys and television towers. Translated from Polish by Władysław Chlebica. 2nd, revised edition. Ernst, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-433-00911-2 , p. 54.1
  35. ^ Robert Krapfenbauer: The static and constructive treatment of the Danube Tower in Vienna. P. 147.
  36. ^ Robert Krapfenbauer: The static and constructive treatment of the Danube Tower in Vienna. P. 146.
  37. ↑ Mayor Jonas laid the foundation stone for the "Danube Tower". In: Rathauskorrespondenz. October 12, 1964. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
  38. ↑ a b c On the earlier security grille and the earlier glazing of the viewing terrace: Compare with a similar solution for the Stuttgart television tower ( picture ).
  39. ↑ The wind gauges are located on the top of the tower at a height of 252 meters and 200 meters west-south-west of the tower in the service yard of the Danube Park, 8 meters above ground, see: Aircraft accident report from October 30, 1970 on the balloon crash. P. 7 (PDF, p. 8; 1.1 MB). Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  40. ↑ www today at today: Novomatic is now playing on the Danube Tower! Retrieved June 4, 2019 .
  41. ↑ Picturesque painting and painting: New Unicredit logo on the Donauturm. Press release from September 10, 2008. Page no longer accessible.
  42. ↑ www today at today: Novomatic is now playing on the Danube Tower! Retrieved June 4, 2019 .
  43. ↑ Elevator technology - more energy-efficient up and down. ( Memento from January 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) At: immonet.at. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  44. ↑ Donauturm blocked: elevators are being replaced. At: wien.orf.at. January 18, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  45. ↑ Danube Tower elevators with energy efficiency class A certified. ( Memento from April 15, 2015 in the Internet Archive ). At: KONE.at.
  46. ↑ Danube Tower then and now >> Everything you should know about us. Retrieved June 19, 2019 (Austrian German).
  47. ↑ Photo archive at www.donauturm.at (1964) ( Memento from January 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on November 28, 2009)
  48. ↑ Photo archive. ( Memento from August 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) On: donauturm.at. 1972, accessed November 28, 2009.
  49. ↑ The Brigittenauer Brücke was built and opened as a motorway bridge, later converted into a road.
  50. ↑ Photo archive. ( Memento from January 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) On: donauturm.at. 1984, accessed November 28, 2009.
  51. ↑ a b photo archive. ( Memento from August 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) On: donauturm.at. 1988, accessed November 28, 2009.
  52. ↑ Photo archive. ( Memento from August 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) On: donauturm.at. 1989, accessed November 28, 2009.
  53. ↑ Lintl archive: 40 years of the Danube Tower.
  54. ↑ Review of the 40 years Danube Tower celebration. ( Memento of October 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ). (.doc; 197 kB). At: donauturm.at. Press release, June 7, 2004.
  55. ↑ 17 millionth visitor to the Danube Tower. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; accessed on March 16, 2018 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.wienerzeitung.at In: wienerzeitung.at. June 17, 2005
  56. ^ Profile of the Danube Tower on the World Federation of Great Towers website . (Flash required.) Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  57. ↑ Old postcard with aerial photo of the Danube Tower in its original form with “Z” and “Schwechater” logo. ( Memento from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  58. ↑ New bank logo on the Danube Tower. At: wien.orf.at. September 9, 2008. Accessed January 4, 2011.
  59. ↑ Vienna takes advertising to extremes. ( Memento from January 14, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ). In: Wirtschaftsblatt.at. May 18, 2004.
  60. ↑ Photo archive. ( Memento from January 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) On: donauturm.at. 1970.
  61. ↑ TriRun Linz Running & Triathlon: Markus Zahlbruckner: 2nd place in the Donauturmlauf! ( Memento of December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved November 14, 2009.
  62. ↑ Donauturm observation tower and restaurant operating company m. b. H .: This year the Danube Tower flight of stairs will not be held! Retrieved November 14, 2009.
  63. ↑ Millennium Tower Run up on September 1, 2012.
  64. ↑ 50 years of the multifunctional Danube Tower. The Danube Tower as a piece of sports equipment. In: Wien.ORF.at , April 16, 2014.
  65. ↑ WEGA practiced on the Danube Tower. From: wien.orf.at , June 19, 2012, accessed on June 19, 2012.
  66. ↑ Skydiver falls 700 meters to his death. At: oe24.at. September 7, 2013, accessed March 14, 2017.
  67. ↑ MARRY IN 7TH HEAVEN. Retrieved June 19, 2019 (Austrian German).
  68. ↑ Entry on use as a civil wedding venue at Donauturm.at ( Memento from 23 August 2013 in the Internet Archive ). More for dream weddings in the most beautiful places in Vienna. In: Der Standard , September 6, 2005.
  69. ↑ https://www.rtr.at/de/m/SenderkatasterKarte
  70. ↑ Notification of KommAustria of December 22, 2011, accessed on July 29, 2013.
  71. ↑ https://www.rtr.at/de/m/SenderkatasterKarte
  72. ^ Secondary peak: Kab-hegy. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
  73. ↑ 50 years of the multifunctional Danube Tower. 20 months construction time. In: Wien.ORF.at. April 16, 2014.
  74. ↑ A stamp printed in Austria, is dedicated to the Vienna International Stamp Exhibition, the Maria am Gestade and Donauturm church , last accessed on June 21, 2019
  75. ↑ First Day Cover Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe , last accessed on June 21, 2019
  76. ↑ Information on the Michel no. 2789 , last accessed on June 21, 2019
  77. ↑ The “Soko Donau” for the season finale in its 200th mission. Retrieved June 5, 2019 .
  78. ^ Wolfgang Kos, Christian Rapp: Alt Wien. The city that never was . Catalog. Ed .: Historical Museum of the City of Vienna. 2nd Edition. tape 316 of special exhibitions at the Wien Museum. Czernin Verlag, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-7076-0202-8 ( full text in the Google book search).
  79. ^ György Sebestyén, Chris Gatz, Inge Santner-Cyrus: Vienna . dtv MERIAN travel guide. 1st edition. Orig. Edition, no. 3704 . Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-423-03704-0 , pp. 106 .
  80. ↑ Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Rudolf Koller, City Planning Director of Vienna, Vienna I, New Town Hall. (At the time of the article (1963) and thus during the construction of the Danube Tower.)
  81. ^ Österreichische Ingenieur-Zeitschrift - Journal of the Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects ( ÖIAV : website ).