If you want to get amazing views of the city of Barcelona, then there is hardly a better place to get them than at the highest point in the city.
In this post, you’ll be able to discover some interesting Torre de Collserola facts, one of the most astounding towers in the world!
1. It’s located on the most famous hill in Barcelona
The Torre de Collserola was named after the mountain range it’s located in, the Serra de Collserola in Barcelona in the northeast of Spain. This mountain range is situated between the rivers Besòs and Llobregat and is part of the much larger Catalan Coastal Range.
The tower is also situated near the top of the highest peak of this mountain range, the famous Tibidabo hill which reaches a total elevation of 512 meters (1,680 feet) above sea level.
The top of this hill features one of the most famous landmarks in the city as well, the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, locally known as the “Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor.”
2. It was constructed for a special event in the early 1990s
The original idea to build a tower on Tibidabo Hill came about when it was announced that Barcelona would become the venue for the 1992 Summer Olympics, a huge sporting event that put the city in the spotlight of the whole world the entire summer.
Two telecommunication companies and the local government of Barcelona joined hands and created a company to manage the project in 1987 called “Torre de Collserola, S.A.“
3. The tower was designed by a world-famous architect
Because of the scale of the event that it was built for, the design of the Torre de Collserola had to be something special. It was to impress the entire world and become an amazing permanent addition to the Barcelona skyline as well.
Shortly after the joint venture company to manage the project was created, an international design competition was launched to find the perfect design which also included a bidding process.
The winner was famous British architect Norman Foster, a man who went on to design some of the most famous buildings in the world. Some of his most notable works are the reconstruction of the Reichstag Building in Berlin, the Millau Viaduct in France, and Wembley Stadium in London.
4. It features a special design element unlike in other observation towers
One of the most remarkable Torre de Collserola facts is that Foster, together with the OVE ARUP engineering firm, designed the tower in such a way that the visual impact on the natural environment would be minimal.
That’s why the concrete shaft of the tower only has a diameter of 4.5 meters (14.76 feet) diameter. To compensate for the thin core of the tower, guy wires were attached to it to support the 3,000-tonnes structure.
Very few tall observation towers have this feature. One other notable example is the Sydney Tower in Australia, the second-tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere at a height of 309 meters (1,014 feet).
5. The tower gets much thinner towards the top
The tower reaches a total height of 288.4 meters (946.19 feet) above the ground, even though the top floor is situated at an elevation of just 152 meters (499 feet). This means that the antenna on top of the tower almost doubles its overall height.
Equally remarkable is that the concrete shaft of the tower only has a diameter of 4.5 meters (14.76 feet) below the floor levels. The shaft of the antenna starts at a diameter of just 3 meters (9.84 feet) and gradually gets thinner.
The top section goes from 2.7 meters (8.85 feet) to just 0.7 meters (2.29 feet) at the tip of the antenna.
6. There’s no higher point in the city of Barcelona
Of the 13 floors of the tower, only the 10th floor is open to the public. This floor is used as an observation deck and can also be used for special events. And what a location to hold an event this magnificent spot is!
The public viewing platform is located at a height of 560 meters (1,837 feet) above sea level which means that it’s the highest point you can be at in Barcelona!
7. Its main purpose is to serve as a TV and radio transmitter
Apart from serving as an observation tower, Torre de Collserola is mainly used as a TV and radio transmitter. FM radio first started broadcasting from the tower in 1993 and the capacity has been increasing ever since.
the first testing of digital radio and television was conducted in 1997 and implemented in the year 2010. This was the start of a new era in broadcasting because Analog TV was switched off permanently that year as well!
8. The views from the observation deck are astounding
On clear days, the viewing platform referred to as “El Mirador,” allows you to get views up to 70 kilometers away. This means you get can get 360-degree views of Collserola Park, the Montserrat monastery, and even the Cadí-Moixeró mountain range!
This simply means that this amazing tourist attraction in Barcelona is the perfect spot to get astonishing views of the region in and around the city that you can’t get anywhere!
