World Heritage Photos

Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg: The radio station at Grimeton was built in 1922-1924 and was inaugurated in 1925. The Grimeton Radio Station is als known as the Varberg Radio Station. The radio station was built for wireless telegraph connections over the Atlantic Ocean and was part of a network of so-called Alexanderson transmitters connecting countries and people in a global communication system. The Swedish-American Ernst Alexanderson developed the transmitter for radio communication on long wave which was built at the Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg. There are six original steel radio towers, dating from 1925. Each tower is 127 metres high. The towers were the tallest built structures in Sweden at that time. The Varberg Radio Station has been maintained in operating condition, mainly for maritime communication. To the west of the Varberg Radio Station a radio village was built, employers of the Varberg Radio Station would be able to live here. The radio station gained status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 2004. The Grimeton Radio Station was previously inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as Varberg Radio Station, Grimeton. Name change in 2014 into: Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg. Photo Art: Varberg Radio Station and World Heritage Art: Varberg Radio Station Towers 

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   The main building of the Grimeton Radio Station near Varberg, the radio station was built in the period 1922-1924 for wireless telegraph connections over the Atlantic Ocean and was part of a huge network of transmitters that connected countries and people in a global communication system. The Grimeton Radio Station was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004 as: Varberg Radio Station. Name change in 2014 into: Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg.

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   Grimeton Radio Station, nearby Varberg: One of the 127 metres high antenna towers, there are six steel towers, each 127 metres high. The towers provide the VLF (Very Low Frequency) radio waves. When the radio station was built in the period 1922-1924, the equipment was leading-edge technology. From Grimeton, the radio waves had free passage over the Altantic Ocean to New York, where the hub in the network was situated.

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   Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg: From Grimeton the radio waves had free passage across the Atlantic Ocean to New York, where the hub in the network was situated. That is why the radio station was built in the small village of Grimeton near Varberg. In Grimeton, 15 km inland, this was also considered to be save from military attacks. In that time, the development of military aviation was still in its infancy. The Grimeton Radio Station in Varberg was inaugurated in 1925.

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   Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg: The Alexanderson alternator is a rotating machine, invented by Ernst Alexanderson in 1904. It was one of the first devices capable of generating continuous radio waves. The invention of the Alexanderson alternator is considered a milestone in electrical engineering. The Alexanderson alternator continued to be used until WWII. Ernst Alexanderson was a pioneer in radio development.

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   Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg: The transmitter installation. Although no longer in regular use, the Grimeton Radio Station has been maintained in operating condition. From 1960 until 1996 the Grimeton Radio Stationin at Varberg transmitted orders to the submarines of the Swedish Royal Navy. The Grimeton Radio Station in Varberg is also known as the Varberg Radio Station. Grimeton is situated in Halland, a Swedish county along the Kattegat coastline.

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   Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg: The transmitting equipment. After WWII, the radio transmitter location was also used for shortwave transmissions. At least four transmissions take place each year, on Alexanderson Day, which is annually held on the last Sunday of June or the first Sunday of July in honor of the designer of the Alexanderson transmitter, on Christmas Eve, and one or two transmissions on special occasions or for testing the equipment of the radio station.

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   Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg: The radio station has been maintained in operating condition, mainly for maritime communication. The transmitter unit in the radio station generated a lot of heat. The system required water cooling, the heated water was transported to a pond situated outside the radio building, a fountain jetted the water into the air to be cooled down and then the cooled water was transported back to the system.

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   Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg: There are six original towers, constructed in 1925. Each tower is 127 metres high, each weighing 130 tons. The steel towers of the Grimeton Radio Station in Varberg were the tallest structures in Sweden at that time. The smaller masts on the antenna field are still in use for short wave transmissions. The Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg, gained the status as a UNESCO World Heritage in 2004.

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   Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg: When the radio station was built, strange ideas flourished about everything that could happen around the radio station: Perhaps the towers would attract huge tower clouds from everywhere with constant storms in Grimeton as a result. Or maybe the radio station would make the tails of cows around Varberg and Grimeton to stand straight up in the air like antenna's. Neither the wetter nor the cows have been affected by the radio station.

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    Grimeton Radio Station nearby Varberg: The gigantic ceramic electrical insulators. The Grimeton Radio Station at Varberg was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004 as Varberg Radio Station. The name was changed in 2014 into: Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg. Nowadays, the radio station is known as the Varberg Radio Station as well as the Grimeton Radio Station. The radio station is situated near Varberg on the southwest coast of Sweden.

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    The Grimeton Radio Station was part of a network of the so-called Alexanderson transmitters connecting countries and people in a global communication system. It started with the electric telegraph, invented by Samuel Morse. Later on, Guglielmo Marconi invented the radio and the wireless telegraphy. The Swedish-American electrical engineer Alexanderson developed the transmitter for radio communication on long wave which was built at Grimeton Radio Station.

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    Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg: The Radio Road leading to the small Radio Village. Grimeton Radio Station in Varberg became the largest employer in the area, the employers of the Varberg Radio Station would be able to live in the Radio Village. The Radio Village is situated next to the six steel towers. Today, the Radio Village is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station in Varberg.

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    Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg: To the west of the radio station the Radio Village was built. Here, employers of the Grimeton Radio Station in Varberg would be able to live. The houses were arranged in a hierarchical structure, a nice house for the manager, in front of it the two houses for the foremen of the radio station, and four houses with rooms for the workmen. Nowadays, the houses are sold to private persons.

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    One of the workers' houses of the Grimeton Radio Station in Varberg, in the background one of the 127 metres high steel framework towers of the radio station in Varberg. The wooden houses were built in the 1920s and are painted with Falu-red paint, the traditional Swedish red paint. Now, the houses are privately owned. The radio station is also known as Varberg Radio Station. The radio station was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004.