- Kiev TV Tower
The Kiev TV Tower ( _uk. Телевізійна вежа, "Televiziina vezha") is a 385-meter (1,263-foot) lattice
steel tower built in1973 inKiev ,Ukraine , forradio andtelevision broadcasting . It is the tallest freestanding lattice steel construction in the world. [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=112289 Kiev TV Tower] at [http://www.emporis.com/?nav=buildingsabout&lng=3 Emporis Buildings database] .] The tower is not open to the public.Construction began in
1968 and finished in1973 . Made of steel pipe of variousdiameter s and thicknesses, the structure weighs 2,700metric ton s. The central pipe, or core, where theelevator is located, is 4 meters in diameter and made of pipe that is 12 mm thick. It sits on a four-legged base that is about 100 meters tall. Atop the base is an enclosed level which housesmicrowave transmitting and receiving equipment. At about 200 meters is a second enclosed level that houses television and FM transmitters, as well as a control and maintenance shop. This second level is the elevator's terminus.The tower is unique in that no mechanical fasteners are used in the structure: every joint, pipe and fixture is attached by
welding .The tower was first designed for
Moscow , then the Soviet capital. But Moscow authorities preferred a more "solid" type of tower which was eventually built (seeOstankino Tower .) Later, when Kiev needed its own tower, the project was reintroduced. The Soviet government ordered the engineers to shorten the tower by 30 meters, so as not to be as tall as the Moscow one.Fact|date=February 2007ee also
*
List of towers
*List of tallest freestanding structures in the world References
External links
*
* [http://members.lycos.nl/rtvtower/towers1/kiev.html members.lycos.nl] - Kiev Central Radio TV Tower
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=112289 emporis.com] - Kiev TV Tower
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.