The Ostankino Tower (Russian: Оста́нкинская ба́шня), is a telecommunications tower located in Moscow, Russia. It is 537 meters high and is the tallest tower in Europe, the fourth tallest tower in the world, only surpassed by the Tokyo Sky Tree, the Canton Television Tower and the CN Tower, and the eighth tallest building in the world (the tallest is the Burj Khalifa skyscraper). For eight years it was the tallest building in the world and the first free-standing structure to exceed 500 meters in height. It is included in the list of the World Federation of Large Towers. It owes its name to the Ostankino district of Moscow, where it is located, located in the north of the city. It was inaugurated on November 5, 1967, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution.
The project was by Soviet engineer Nikolai Nikitin, who was also responsible for the structure of the statue The Motherland Calls! 85 meters high, and was built between 1960 and 1967. The total weight of the structure is 55,000 tons, with a height of 537 meters and 3.5 meters below the ground. Its construction cost 65 million dollars. It has a public area at 337 meters high with an open-air observation bridge with a glass floor and a revolving circular restaurant. The public area is accessed by five fast elevators that make the journey in 58 seconds. There is also access by stairs that has a total of 1700 steps.[1].
The Ostankino Tower belongs to the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network"
History
Design and construction
On October 1, 1931, television was born in Russia, then the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. At the end of 1936, the government of the USSR agreed to build a telecommunications tower to provide television service in Moscow.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the project for a telecommunications tower was resumed. Between 1956 and 1959, a series of studies and resolutions were carried out by the Council of Ministers and the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council that defined the creation of a telecommunications tower in the area of Shabolovka Street where the Shukhov Tower is located. A metal and reinforced concrete tower was planned. On January 30, 1956, the Moscow City Council reserved an area near Cheryomushki, in the southwestern part of Moscow.
Ostankino Tower
Introduction
The Ostankino Tower (Russian: Оста́нкинская ба́шня), is a telecommunications tower located in Moscow, Russia. It is 537 meters high and is the tallest tower in Europe, the fourth tallest tower in the world, only surpassed by the Tokyo Sky Tree, the Canton Television Tower and the CN Tower, and the eighth tallest building in the world (the tallest is the Burj Khalifa skyscraper). For eight years it was the tallest building in the world and the first free-standing structure to exceed 500 meters in height. It is included in the list of the World Federation of Large Towers. It owes its name to the Ostankino district of Moscow, where it is located, located in the north of the city. It was inaugurated on November 5, 1967, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution.
The project was by Soviet engineer Nikolai Nikitin, who was also responsible for the structure of the statue The Motherland Calls! 85 meters high, and was built between 1960 and 1967. The total weight of the structure is 55,000 tons, with a height of 537 meters and 3.5 meters below the ground. Its construction cost 65 million dollars. It has a public area at 337 meters high with an open-air observation bridge with a glass floor and a revolving circular restaurant. The public area is accessed by five fast elevators that make the journey in 58 seconds. There is also access by stairs that has a total of 1700 steps.[1].
The Ostankino Tower belongs to the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network"
History
Design and construction
On October 1, 1931, television was born in Russia, then the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. At the end of 1936, the government of the USSR agreed to build a telecommunications tower to provide television service in Moscow.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the project for a telecommunications tower was resumed. Between 1956 and 1959, a series of studies and resolutions were carried out by the Council of Ministers and the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council that defined the creation of a telecommunications tower in the area of Shabolovka Street where the Shukhov Tower is located. A metal and reinforced concrete tower was planned. On January 30, 1956, the Moscow City Council reserved an area near Cheryomushki, in the southwestern part of Moscow.
In March 1959, the location moved to Ostankino, near the Dzerzhinsky Park. In July 1960, the site assigned to the construction began to be prepared, with the first concrete blocks being placed on September 27, 1960. On March 22, 1963, the project for the tower was presented, whose responsibility was Nikolai Nikitin together with the engineers Moiséi Shkud, Boris Zlobin and Lev Schipakin[2] and the architect Dmitri Burdin.
Nikolai Nikitin's initial project contemplated a 520-meter-high tower that was later expanded by 20 meters due to the technical infrastructure of antennas. Construction work began in 1963 and lasted four years, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. Nearly 40 scientific and engineering institutions and dozens of construction organizations participated in the work.
The design of the tower is based on flower petals with a thick stem but in an inverted shape. Initially four supports had been planned but 10 were increased after the advice of the German engineer Fritz Leonhardt who had extensive experience in the construction of concrete towers and was the author of the Stuttgart TV tower, the first made of concrete in the world.
The 55,000-tonne structure is made of prestressed concrete with steel cables, which make the design of simple and robust towers possible. A free-standing structure was devised, with almost no foundation (it is only three and a half meters deep) that remains upright due to the excess weight of the cone-shaped base multiple of the weight of the mast structure.
After the completion of the civil works, technical equipment for TV and radio, communications, elements of the security service and a meteorological complex were installed in the tower.
It was inaugurated on November 5, 1967, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution and began serving the retransmission of four TV and three radio stations at a distance of 120 km.
In reference to the success of the tower's construction, the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union approved a decree granting the honorary title "October 50th Anniversary" to all those who collaborated in its construction.
Fire
On August 27, 2000, a large fire occurred in the tower. It started at a height of 460 meters and three floors burned completely. Three people died during the extinction.
Dozens of cables that support the building broke due to the heat, but despite everything the tower resisted. After reconstruction work, it reopened on February 14, 2008.
Services
Contenido
La torre Ostánkino mantiene una serie de servicios activos. El servicio principal es el de servir de torre de telecomunicaciones, actividad por la que fue construida, pero también tiene un servicio lúdico y turístico.
Observation bridge and restaurant
The restaurant "Seventh Heaven" is located at an altitude of 328-334 meters and occupies 3 floors. It has a circular shape and rotates on its axis at a speed of between one and three revolutions per hour.[3].
In its entire history, the restaurant and observation deck received more than 10 million visitors.[4].
The observation platform is repaired, and since April 7, 2009, excursions to it have been carried out for organized groups. However, the restaurant remains closed.
Flag location
Until 1991, the flag of the Soviet Union was located on the Ostankino Tower. On June 12, 2009, coinciding with the celebration of "Russia Day"), the specially prepared flag of Russia, 2.5 meters wide and 5 meters long, was raised.[5][6][7].
Telecommunications
The tower provides radio broadcasting and telephone service to an area where 15 million people live (at the time of its inauguration the population served was 10 million people).
Curiosities
Due to the large size of the structure, the effect of the wind and the sun hitting it moves it and changes its size. The wind is capable of decentering the upper end of the tower by up to 10 meters, and the expansion caused by the incidence of the sun can cause the height of the tower to grow by 2.2 meters.[8].
• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Ostankino Tower.
In March 1959, the location moved to Ostankino, near the Dzerzhinsky Park. In July 1960, the site assigned to the construction began to be prepared, with the first concrete blocks being placed on September 27, 1960. On March 22, 1963, the project for the tower was presented, whose responsibility was Nikolai Nikitin together with the engineers Moiséi Shkud, Boris Zlobin and Lev Schipakin[2] and the architect Dmitri Burdin.
Nikolai Nikitin's initial project contemplated a 520-meter-high tower that was later expanded by 20 meters due to the technical infrastructure of antennas. Construction work began in 1963 and lasted four years, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. Nearly 40 scientific and engineering institutions and dozens of construction organizations participated in the work.
The design of the tower is based on flower petals with a thick stem but in an inverted shape. Initially four supports had been planned but 10 were increased after the advice of the German engineer Fritz Leonhardt who had extensive experience in the construction of concrete towers and was the author of the Stuttgart TV tower, the first made of concrete in the world.
The 55,000-tonne structure is made of prestressed concrete with steel cables, which make the design of simple and robust towers possible. A free-standing structure was devised, with almost no foundation (it is only three and a half meters deep) that remains upright due to the excess weight of the cone-shaped base multiple of the weight of the mast structure.
After the completion of the civil works, technical equipment for TV and radio, communications, elements of the security service and a meteorological complex were installed in the tower.
It was inaugurated on November 5, 1967, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution and began serving the retransmission of four TV and three radio stations at a distance of 120 km.
In reference to the success of the tower's construction, the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union approved a decree granting the honorary title "October 50th Anniversary" to all those who collaborated in its construction.
Fire
On August 27, 2000, a large fire occurred in the tower. It started at a height of 460 meters and three floors burned completely. Three people died during the extinction.
Dozens of cables that support the building broke due to the heat, but despite everything the tower resisted. After reconstruction work, it reopened on February 14, 2008.
Services
Contenido
La torre Ostánkino mantiene una serie de servicios activos. El servicio principal es el de servir de torre de telecomunicaciones, actividad por la que fue construida, pero también tiene un servicio lúdico y turístico.
Observation bridge and restaurant
The restaurant "Seventh Heaven" is located at an altitude of 328-334 meters and occupies 3 floors. It has a circular shape and rotates on its axis at a speed of between one and three revolutions per hour.[3].
In its entire history, the restaurant and observation deck received more than 10 million visitors.[4].
The observation platform is repaired, and since April 7, 2009, excursions to it have been carried out for organized groups. However, the restaurant remains closed.
Flag location
Until 1991, the flag of the Soviet Union was located on the Ostankino Tower. On June 12, 2009, coinciding with the celebration of "Russia Day"), the specially prepared flag of Russia, 2.5 meters wide and 5 meters long, was raised.[5][6][7].
Telecommunications
The tower provides radio broadcasting and telephone service to an area where 15 million people live (at the time of its inauguration the population served was 10 million people).
Curiosities
Due to the large size of the structure, the effect of the wind and the sun hitting it moves it and changes its size. The wind is capable of decentering the upper end of the tower by up to 10 meters, and the expansion caused by the incidence of the sun can cause the height of the tower to grow by 2.2 meters.[8].
• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Ostankino Tower.