Berne, 19 August 2011
Standing 216 metres tall on top of the Blosenberg, the steelwork of the old main mast at the Beromünster national transmission centre is now an accepted part of the landscape. It therefore received protected monument status in 2009. The equipment used at the complex, which formerly broadcast in the medium-wave band, can now be viewed at the Museum of Communication in Berne, serving as a reminder of the old days of Radio Beromünster.
The smaller east radio tower was not considered deserving of official monument protection and is therefore due to be blown up at 2 p.m. today, by the explosives specialists Schwarz Spreng- und Felsbau AG. A wide area will be evacuated for safety reasons. Demolition using explosives is the easiest and safest way of removing the radio tower, which stretches 126 metres into the sky. The associated clearance works, which will be carried out by Swisscom subsidiary Cablex, will be completed by the end of the year.
In December 2010, the local Beromünster population voted in a referendum to reclassify the former national transmission site as special area for art and culture. The former operations building has been transformed under the direction of the artist Wetz into a Centre for Art and Culture in the Beromünster National Transmission Centre (KKLB - Kunst und Kultur im Landessender Beromünster). The Centre will be progressively expanded and developed.