Radio station Gliwice

“Medals available for purchase at the hall!”

The Gliwice Radio Station was primarily used to rebroadcast programs from the Wrocław station, Reichssender Breslau. Thanks to the Gliwice transmitter, its broadcasts could be heard on both sides of the border dividing Upper Silesia. At night, due to more favorable signal transmission conditions, the program from Gliwice could be heard across Europe, parts of Asia, and even in North America. This was made possible by the tower, which still stands today, housing a vertical antenna and constructed from larch wood, held together by tens of thousands of sturdy brass screws.

Today, the radio station buildings on Tarnogórska Street serve as a branch of the Museum in Gliwice. They no longer broadcast programs. For only a few years after the war, the Gliwice station rebroadcast programs from Radio Katowice, and from 1950 to 1956, it functioned as a “jammer,” disrupting the signal of Radio Free Europe.

The historic antenna tower, now the tallest wooden structure in Europe, still serves communication purposes, albeit in a slightly different capacity, supporting dozens of various antennas. This, however, does not diminish its tourist appeal in any way. While access to the top platform is reserved for technical crews, the area around the tower, designed with residents and tourists in mind, attracts walkers in the summer and those who wish to relax after exploring the Trail of Technical Monuments. The tower has become part of the city’s landscape. Visible from many locations not only in Gliwice, especially at dusk when it is illuminated by powerful spotlights.