When I saw this photo of the
Mount Säntis television transmission tower in Switzerland,
the first thing I thought of was the scene in the James Bond "Moonraker" movie
where 007 battles the infamous Jaws while riding a cable car. That
took place in an area around the Mediterranean though, so maybe it was "Where
Eagles Dare" or some other spy / military movie I was thinking of. The
tower is featured on a Wikipedia webpage where it states in part: "Located at
the peak of the Säntis is a 123.55 meter high transmission tower, which was
commissioned in November 1997. The original tower stemming from the year 1955
had to be renovated several times due to the rough weather conditions before
finally being replaced. The antenna of the new transmission tower got a fibre-glass
enforced plastic layer on the outside in order to prevent ice falling onto the
visitors' terrace." The Säntis TV tower was only 3 years old when this piece
appeared in a 1958 issue of Radio & TV News magazine.
Highest TV Transmitter in Europe, August 1958 Radio News
The highest TV transmitter in Europe, and perhaps the world, is this one atop
Mount Saentis in northeastern Switzerland. The transmitter is 8210 feet above sea
level which is over five times higher than the Empire State Building where all New
York City's TV station antennas are located. Fortunately, repairmen will not have
to be Alpinists. An aerial cable car provides year-round access to the peak. The
inset above shows a close-up view of the transmitter building and antennas perched
high on mountain.
Posted October 21, 2019
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