View source for Knigs Wusterhausen radio transmitter

The Königs Wusterhausen transmitter, located near Königs Wusterhausen southeast of Berlin, Germany, was a significant radio transmission facility for longwave, mediumwave, and shortwave broadcasts. Constructed by the German Army during World War I, it began operating in 1916. On December 22, 1920, it transmitted a Christmas concert that marked the birth of public broadcasting in Germany. Initially used by the military, the facility was taken over by the Reichspost after the war and expanded to include weather reports, financial news, and telegrams. The transmitter gained prominence with the introduction of radio broadcasting on December 22, 1920, using an arc converter supplied by C. Lorenz AG. This made it the "cradle of German broadcasting." After private radio reception was legalized in 1923, the facility grew, and a second station building, Senderhaus 2, was inaugurated that year. In 1925, a nationwide transmitter complex was built, featuring masts up to 243 meters tall. The site also hosted Germany's first public shortwave transmitter for international broadcasting, introduced in August 1929. Following the Nazi regime's rise to power in 1933, the facility was primarily used for propaganda. After World War II, it became part of the Soviet occupation zone, with some masts removed. Despite this, it continued operating for East German broadcasts until reunification in 1990. By then, only a few structures remained, including a 210-meter mast. The last transmitters were shut down between 1992 and 1999, and the site was transformed into a museum. A 67-meter-high concrete tower for mobile phone services and FM ...