| Gerbrandy Tower | |
|---|---|
 Gerbrandy Tower | |
 Interactive map of the Gerbrandy Tower area | |
| General information | |
| Type | Partially guyed tower |
| Location | IJsselstein,Utrecht province, theNetherlands |
| Coordinates | 52°0′36.24″N5°3′12.87″E / 52.0100667°N 5.0535750°E /52.0100667; 5.0535750 |
| Completed | 1961 |
| Height | 366.8 m (1,203.41 ft) |
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TheGerbrandy Tower (Dutch:Gerbrandytoren) is aradio tower inIJsselstein, theNetherlands. It is also known asLopik tower after the nearby town. It was built in 1961.
The Gerbrandy Tower is used for directional radio services and for FM- and TV-broadcasting. The Gerbrandy Tower consists of a concrete tower with a height of 100 meters (328') on which a guyed aerial mast is mounted. Its total height was originally 382.5 metres (1,255 ft), but in 1987 it was reduced to 375 metres (1,230 ft)[citation needed].
On August 2, 2007, itsanalog antenna was replaced by adigital one reducing its height by another 9 metres (30 ft). Its height is now 366.8 metres (1,203 ft).
This tower type is apartially guyed tower, which combines a lower free standing tower antennas with an upperguyed mast. If the structure is counted as a tower, it is the tallest tower in Western Europe. The Gerbrandy Tower is not the only tower which consists of a concrete tower on which a guyed mast is set. There is one similar but smaller tower with the same structure in the Netherlands, the radio tower ofZendstation Smilde, which consisted of an 80 metres (260 ft) high concrete tower, on which a 223.5 metres (733 ft) high guyed mast was mounted. This structure collapsed after a fire on July 15, 2011. Rebuilding of that tower started in late 2011 and was completed in October 2012; the replacement structure is also a partially guyed tower, now 303 metres (994 ft) high.
The tower is named afterPieter Gerbrandy,Prime Minister of the Netherlands duringWorld War Two.
Nearby, there is another remarkable antenna: theKNMI-mast Cabauw, a mast used for meteorological measurements.
Another nearby antenna, the 196 metres (643 ft) highmediumwave transmitter Lopik, was demolished on September 4, 2015.
On July 15, 2011, there was a small fire in the Gerbrandy tower. Only hours later, asimilar tower in Smilde caught fire and collapsed, after which all transmitters in the Gerbrandy tower were shut down as a precaution, leaving large parts of the Netherlands without FM-radio and digital TV (DVB-T) reception.
The ownership of the tower is complex: the concrete main structure is owned byAlticom: a company established in 2007 that bought many assets fromKPN. Alticom was part of the European TDG Group, but in June 2011 it was announced that all shares in Alticom were acquired by investment company Infracapital[1] who are the infrastructure specialists ofPrudential plc.
Alticom is the owner of the concrete base and the first three meters (10') of ground around this base. The metal mast on top of the structure is owned byNOVEC, which is asubsidiary of the electricity transmission operatorTenneT. The ground on which the tower is built, excluding the first three meters (10') around the base, is (still) owned by KPN.[2]
Every year since 1992 from 6 December till 6 January the tower is decorated with 120 LED lamps which are attached to the 12guy-wires, so it looks like a giantChristmas tree in the dark. Furthermore bright lights at multiple sides of the mast astree-topper and some spotlights to illuminate the lower part of the tower. In 1998 it was rewarded byThe Guinness Book of Records as the tallest Christmas tree in the world in a construction.[3] TheMount Ingino Christmas Tree is also named as the largest Christmas tree, however that is made on a hill slope.
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Eiffel Tower 312.3 m (1,025 ft) | Tallest structure inEU 382.5 m (1,255 ft) 1961–1973 | Succeeded by Belmont transmitting station 387.5 m (1,271 ft) |