With its 553.33 m, it had been the highest detached building in the world, from the time of its construction in 1976 to 12th September 2007. It is actually a radio and TV tower, but of course, it is a popular observation deck as well. Built in 1976, this gigantic tower, which would even stand firm in a storm twice as powerful as a hurricane, has every conceivable safety feature and is a world-class engineering feat. The model in Minimundus also presented its constructors with a great challenge. In one school year, three technical colleges in Austria constructed the main tower out of concrete, the observation deck and the top of the tower, including all technical installations, such as lifts, light, air conditioning, lightning protection, etc. In order to erect the 20 tonne model, the army placed steel plates on sand bedding to distribute the weight better so that the low bed truck and three heavy mobile cranes could gain access to the site. This was a unique achievement in model making all over the world and attracted a great deal of attention in the media.
Height: 22.13 m
Diameter of foundations: 3.40 m
Weight: 19.5 t
Materials: reinforced concrete, high-grade steel, aluminium, plastic, ornamental glass
Time taken: 1 school year
Model makers: concrete part – HTL Villach, observation tower – TGM Wien, top of the tower – HTL Wolfsberg (1998)