Fernsehturm Stuttgart

The world's first telecommunications tower of its kind, the Fernsehturm Stuttgart pioneered a design that would be copied across the globe. Completed in 1956 on a wooded hill above the southern German city, it was the first television tower built from reinforced concrete with a slim shaft and a projecting observation pod, an elegant solution that replaced ungainly steel lattice masts and set the template for later towers everywhere.

The observation levels sit in the pod near the top, at around 150 metres above the surrounding ground. Because the tower stands on the Hoher Bopser hill, the view reaches far over Stuttgart in its valley basin, the vineyards climbing the surrounding slopes, the forests of the region, and, on clear days, the distant line of the Swabian Alps. Two decks and a café share the pod.

Its engineering was a breakthrough. The designer, Fritz Leonhardt, showed that a tall concrete tube could carry a broadcast antenna and public platforms safely and gracefully, a concept quickly adopted for the famous towers of many other cities. The Stuttgart tower is preserved as a technical and architectural monument for its founding role.

Visiting details. Admission is inexpensive, and lifts carry visitors up to the pod, making it step-free. The warmer months from late spring through summer offer the clearest, longest views over the hilly landscape, though the deck is open year-round. Evening visits catch the city lights in the valley below. The tower sits in woodland on the southern edge of the city, reached by tram and a short walk, an easy trip that pairs the panorama with a stroll among the surrounding forest trails. A ground-level exhibition explains the tower's founding role in tower design worldwide, adding technical interest to a trip already worth making for the hilltop panorama.