# Gerbrandy Tower
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{{Infobox building
| name = Gerbrandy Tower
| image = File:20131110 Gerbrandytoren.jpg
| caption = Gerbrandy Tower
| building_type = [Partially guyed tower](/source/Partially_guyed_tower)
| location = [IJsselstein](/source/IJsselstein), [Utrecht province](/source/Utrecht_province), the [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands)
| coordinates = {{coord|display=inline,title|52|0|36.24|N|5|3|12.87|E|type:landmark}}
| Status =
| completion_date = 1961
| destruction_date =
| height = {{convert|366.8|m|ft|2|abbr=on}}
| architect =
| main_contractor =
}}
thumbnail|The tower as Christmas tree
The '''Gerbrandy Tower''' ({{langx|nl|Gerbrandytoren}}) is a [radio tower](/source/radio_tower) in [IJsselstein](/source/IJsselstein), the [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands). It is also known as '''Lopik tower''' after the nearby town. It was built in 1961.
==Description==
The Gerbrandy Tower is used for directional radio services and for FM- and TV-broadcasting. The Gerbrandy Tower consists of a concrete tower with a height of 100 meters (328') on which a guyed aerial mast is mounted. Its total height was originally {{convert|382.5|m|ft}}, but in 1987 it was reduced to {{convert|375|m|ft}}{{cn|date=August 2025}}.
On August 2, 2007, its [analog](/source/Analog_signal) antenna was replaced by a [digital](/source/Digital_broadcasting) one reducing its height by another {{convert|9|m|ft}}. Its height is now {{convert|366.8|m|ft}}.
This tower type is a [partially guyed tower](/source/partially_guyed_tower), which combines a lower free standing tower antennas with an upper [guyed](/source/Guy-wire) mast. If the structure is counted as a tower, it is the tallest tower in Western Europe. The Gerbrandy Tower is not the only tower which consists of a concrete tower on which a guyed mast is set. There is one similar but smaller tower with the same structure in the Netherlands, the radio tower of [Zendstation Smilde](/source/Zendstation_Smilde), which consisted of an {{convert|80|m|ft}} high concrete tower, on which a {{convert|223.5|m|ft}} high guyed mast was mounted. This structure collapsed after a fire on July 15, 2011. Rebuilding of that tower started in late 2011 and was completed in October 2012; the replacement structure is also a partially guyed tower, now {{convert|303|m|ft}} high.
===Naming===
The tower is named after [Pieter Gerbrandy](/source/Pieter_Sjoerds_Gerbrandy), [Prime Minister of the Netherlands](/source/Prime_Minister_of_the_Netherlands) during [World War Two](/source/World_War_II).
Nearby, there is another remarkable antenna: the [KNMI-mast Cabauw](/source/KNMI-mast_Cabauw), a mast used for meteorological measurements.
Another nearby antenna, the {{convert|196|m|ft}} high [mediumwave transmitter Lopik](/source/mediumwave_transmitter_Lopik), was demolished on September 4, 2015.
==Fires in Dutch TV masts==
On July 15, 2011, there was a small fire in the Gerbrandy tower. Only hours later, a [similar tower in Smilde](/source/Zendstation_Smilde) caught fire and collapsed, after which all transmitters in the Gerbrandy tower were shut down as a precaution, leaving large parts of the Netherlands without FM-radio and digital TV (DVB-T) reception.
==Owner==
The ownership of the tower is complex: the concrete main structure is owned by [Alticom](/source/Alticom): a company established in 2007 that bought many assets from [KPN](/source/KPN). Alticom was part of the European TDG Group, but in June 2011 it was announced that all shares in Alticom were acquired by investment company Infracapital[Press-release [http://www.alticom.nl/upload/File/Infracapital%20TDF%20Press%20release.pdf Infracapital buys Alticom] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724230806/http://www.alticom.nl/upload/File/Infracapital%20TDF%20Press%20release.pdf |date=2011-07-24 }}, 8 June 2011, retrieved 27 July 2011] who are the infrastructure specialists of [Prudential plc](/source/Prudential_plc).
Alticom is the owner of the concrete base and the first three meters (10') of ground around this base. The metal mast on top of the structure is owned by [NOVEC](/source/NOVEC), which is a [subsidiary](/source/subsidiary) of the electricity transmission operator [TenneT](/source/TenneT). The ground on which the tower is built, excluding the first three meters (10') around the base, is (still) owned by KPN.[Report about working safely in Radio and TV-masts: [http://zendmast.kbavdesign.nl/rapport_zendmasten.pdf Veilig werken op hoog nivo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902160733/http://zendmast.kbavdesign.nl/rapport_zendmasten.pdf |date=2011-09-02 }} (Dutch), 8 August 2007, retrieved 25 July 2011]
==Christmas tree==
Every year since 1992 from 6 December till 6 January the tower is decorated with 120 LED lamps which are attached to the 12 [guy-wire](/source/guy-wire)s, so it looks like a giant [Christmas tree](/source/Christmas_tree) in the dark. Furthermore bright lights at multiple sides of the mast as [tree-topper](/source/tree-topper) and some spotlights to illuminate the lower part of the tower. In 1998 it was rewarded by [The Guinness Book of Records](/source/The_Guinness_Book_of_Records) as the tallest Christmas tree in the world in a construction.[{{cite web |url=https://dutchreview.com/news/world-tallest-christmas-tree-netherlands/ |title=This Dutch city is home to the tallest Christmas ‘tree’ in the WORLD |language=en |publisher=DutchReview |date=16 December 2024 |access-date=10 December 2025}}] The [Mount Ingino Christmas Tree](/source/Mount_Ingino_Christmas_Tree) is also named as the largest Christmas tree, however that is made on a hill slope.
==See also==
* [List of towers](/source/List_of_towers)
* [List of masts](/source/List_of_masts)
==Sources==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Gerbrandytoren}}
* {{Structurae|id=20012623|title=Gerbrandy Toren}}
* [http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?buildingID=871 Drawings at SkyscraperPage.com]
* [http://www.degrootstekerstboom.nl World's Greatest Christmas Tree Foundation]
{{s-start}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box
| title=Tallest structure in [EU](/source/European_Union)
{{convert|382.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| before=[Eiffel Tower](/source/Eiffel_Tower)
{{convert|312.3|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| after=[Belmont transmitting station](/source/Belmont_transmitting_station)
{{convert|387.5|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| years=1961–1973}}
{{s-end}}
{{Tallest buildings in the Netherlands}}{{Supertall}}
Category:Communication towers in the Netherlands
Category:Towers completed in 1961
Category:Towers in Utrecht (province)
Category:IJsselstein
Category:1961 establishments in the Netherlands
Category:20th-century architecture in the Netherlands
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gerbrandy Tower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerbrandy_Tower) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerbrandy_Tower?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.