Torre España
Encyclopedia
Torrespaña is a 231 m (757.87 ft) steel-and-concrete television tower located in Madrid
, Spain
. National terrestrial television channels RTVE
, Telecinco
and Antena 3
, as well as the autonomic channel Telemadrid
, along with a few radio stations, broadcast from this tower.
The tower was built in 1982, conmemorating the FIFA World Cup
celebrated in Spain
that year. The building was administered by RTVE
until the year 1989, when control over radio and television emissions in Spanish territory was given to Retevisión
. It is not open for tourists.
The Torrespaña tower is generally known in Madrid
as the "Pirulí", given the similarity between the tower and a particular type of lollipop
of conical shape very popular in Spain in the eighties.
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It is located in a depression
, next to the M30 highway. Most of central Madrid lies to the W and NW. According to Google Earth
the terrain altitude at the site is 660 m (2,165.4 ft) whereas about 1 km (3,280.8 ft) to the NW it is about 700 m (2,296.6 ft) and rises to 720 m (2,362.2 ft) even further north. Add about 20–30 m (65.6–98.4 ft) height for the average building and the base of the tower is about 60 to 90 m (196.9 to 295.3 ft) below the rooftops in that area. While the top of the tower is directly visible from most rooftops of Madrid it is unclear why this site located in a depression was selected when a site located in higher terrain would have given it better visibility and coverage with reduced height from the base.
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. National terrestrial television channels RTVE
RTVE
The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. or Corporación Radiotelevisión Española is the state-owned public corporation that assumed the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service from Ente Público Radiotelevisión Española in 2007...
, Telecinco
Telecinco
Telecinco is a Spanish commercial television channel operated by Mediaset España. Launched in 1990 as Tele 5, it was the fifth of the national terrestrial television channels. In 1997, Tele 5 was rebranded as Telecinco, dropping the flower logo seen in other Mediaset channel...
and Antena 3
Antena 3 (Spain)
Antena 3 is a Spanish terrestrial television channel owned by Antena 3 de Televisión. Some of the more popular programmes broadcast by Antena 3 include Aquí no hay quien viva, El Barco, Los Protegidos, Los Simpson and El Internado....
, as well as the autonomic channel Telemadrid
Telemadrid
Telemadrid is the first autonomous public television station of Madrid and the fifth national station, after those of Catalonia, Euskadi, Galicia and Andalusia. It is affiliated with FORTA since its inception, and it is a public channel that belongs exclusively to the autonomous government of...
, along with a few radio stations, broadcast from this tower.
The tower was built in 1982, conmemorating the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
celebrated in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
that year. The building was administered by RTVE
RTVE
The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. or Corporación Radiotelevisión Española is the state-owned public corporation that assumed the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service from Ente Público Radiotelevisión Española in 2007...
until the year 1989, when control over radio and television emissions in Spanish territory was given to Retevisión
Retevisión
Retevisión is a Spanish telecommunications company and a subsidiary of Abertis.- History :Retevision was born in 1989 as a public company, a division of the national public Radiotelevisión Española...
. It is not open for tourists.
The Torrespaña tower is generally known in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
as the "Pirulí", given the similarity between the tower and a particular type of lollipop
Lollipop
A lollipop, pop, lolly, sucker, or sticky-pop is a type of confectionery consisting mainly of hardened, flavored sucrose with corn syrup mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. They are available in many flavors and shapes.- Types :Lollipops are available in a number of colors and...
of conical shape very popular in Spain in the eighties.
Depression (geology)
A depression in geology is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Depressions may be formed by various mechanisms.Structural or tectonic related:...
, next to the M30 highway. Most of central Madrid lies to the W and NW. According to Google Earth
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
the terrain altitude at the site is 660 m (2,165.4 ft) whereas about 1 km (3,280.8 ft) to the NW it is about 700 m (2,296.6 ft) and rises to 720 m (2,362.2 ft) even further north. Add about 20–30 m (65.6–98.4 ft) height for the average building and the base of the tower is about 60 to 90 m (196.9 to 295.3 ft) below the rooftops in that area. While the top of the tower is directly visible from most rooftops of Madrid it is unclear why this site located in a depression was selected when a site located in higher terrain would have given it better visibility and coverage with reduced height from the base.