Dates

  • The cornerstone is laid. A total of 32 construction companies took part in the construction of the Tallinn TV Tower. Two complicated tasks faced the architects: choosing the TV Tower’s structure and site. The tower has three parts to it: the foundation, the 190-metre-high reinforced concrete trunk and the 124-metre-high steel antenna. Between 150 and 182 metres, the tower is girded by a structure 38 metres in diameter.

  • The reinforced concrete “trunk” is built. A number of technological solutions that were new at the time are used. The trunk was made using a sliding mould method. The mould was installed at a height of 2.5 metres, the reinforcing rods were assembled and the concrete was poured in.

    The M-400 brand of concrete was used – oil shale fly ash with a base of Portland cement. The concrete was developed by scientists at the Tallinn Polytechnic Institute, led by professor Verner Kikas. A total of 17,500 tonnes of concrete and 380 km of reinforcement rods were installed. The total weight of the TV tower was about 20,000 tonnes. The concrete part has 1,050 steps.

  • The tower reaches its as-designed height, 314 m. Besides wind, the tower is also affected by sunlight – the tip traces an arc in the sky. The permitted deviation at the observation platform height is 0.9 m; at the tip, 1.5 m.

  • The latticework of the upper structure is lifted into place. Weighing over 120 tonnes, the metal structure was assembled around the trunk of the tower at ground level and lifted up to 170 m. The observation platform height is 170 m, and the diameter of the platform is 38 m.

  • Brigadier Väino Saar prevents a catastrophe. Due to a welder’s negligence, cables in the central shaft of the trunk ignited and the fire spread rapidly, with the threat that it could melt the metal parts of the tower. Saar was able to sever the burning cables in the nick of time.

  • Official opening of the Tallinn TV Tower

  • The first signal is transmitted over the airwaves.

  • The sailing events of the Moscow Olympics are held until 1 August, the TV Tower being one of the many new Tallinn landmarks opened for the occasion.

  • The August putsch takes place against Mikhail Gorbachov in Moscow, with a self-styled state of emergency committee seeking to end the premier’s liberal perestroika policies.

  • Just before midnight, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia reaches a decision to declare Estonia no longer a part of the USSR and once more an independent nation. Early in the morning of 21 August, Soviet assault troops attempted to seize the TV Tower. People from all over Estonia came out to defend the tower. A handful of armed Estonian defenders barricaded themselves into the rooms at the top.

  • The 170-metre-high observation platform is closed to visitors as it no longer complies with fire safety requirements.

  • It is decided to renovate the tower.

  • Construction starts in May.

  • After a full renovation, the legendary Tallinn TV Tower re-opens to the public. The TV Tower is now an “experience centre” with plenty to offer visitors young and old. A futuristic exhibition space featuring Estonia’s top achievements is also opened. The highest panoramic restaurant in Northern Europe also opens.

  • The TV starts celebrating its anniversary each year, with an event called BASE Jump Boogie where pro athletes leap off the tower. The TV Tower is one of the few buildings in the world to officially host this extreme sport and thus the world’s BASE jumper elite is on hand. Skydivers from 20 different countries have taken part, with Colombia and Australia the most distant ones.

  • The prestigious World Federation of Great Towers accepts the Tallinn TV Tower as a member. Member towers must be open to the public, so mere height alone is not enough. The highest tower in the federation is the Burj Khalifa – 828 metres. Tallinn TV Tower is 19th among the 40 members in terms of height and also the highest building in Northern Europe open to the public.

  • At noon, Estonia’s first space satellite ESTCube-1 is presented at the TV Tower. This was the first and last time to see the cube before it was sent to orbit from the European cosmodrome in French Guyana. Estonia is now and ever more a space nation.

  • An attraction unique in the Baltic states and all of Northern Europe has opened for another season at the Tallinn TV Tower - Walk on the Edge®! It's now possible to get an adrenaline jolt by putting on a safety harness, and going out for a walk on the highest open deck in northern Europe, on the 22nd floor of the tower (175 metres above the ground).

  • Tallinn TV Tower Run, a race up the stairs that is open to the public, is included as the Premium Race event and on the list of the WFGT’s Tower Running Challenge. The 30 fastest men and women in the race are awarded world cup series. At least eight towers from different countries and continents take part in the series. The fastest time posted at the TV Tower dates from 5 April 2015 and was set by world champion Piotr Lobodzinski – 4 minutes, 29 seconds.