As of: February 14, 2024, 12:25 p.m
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A red traffic light lights up within sight of the former “Telemoritz” television tower (also “VW Tower”).
© Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
Everyone in Hanover knows it: the “Telemoritz”, the old television tower with the VW advertising.
The tower is getting old and the owner, VW Commercial Vehicles, is planning to demolish it.
Are there alternatives?
Hanover - The striking old television tower known as “Telemoritz” is part of the cityscape of Hanover - but perhaps not for long: the car manufacturer Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles as the owner has begun planning for the demolition of the tower.
“The decision was not easy for us,” said Josef Baumert, brand director for production and logistics at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, on Wednesday in Hanover.
According to a report from 2023, the stability is “borderline” and millions would have to be invested in renovation.
The “Telemoritz” with its VW advertising, which was created in 1959 and is approximately 141 meters high, has belonged to the car manufacturer since 2000.
If the tower is to be preserved, a fundamental renovation will be necessary in the next few months - this would require investments in the double-digit million range, and this will take years.
The tower is not designed for possible public use, for example as a restaurant.
That is therefore “not an option for us,” said Baumert.
There have been attempts to do this since the mid-1990s, none of which were sustainable.
In the event of an alternative use, Baumert expects costs, including renovation, to be in the mid double-digit million range.
Nevertheless, according to him, the manufacturer would support a viable concept for alternative use.
Every offer in the past few months has been examined and there has been no positive result.
The demolition is therefore being seriously prepared and the advertising should be dismantled this year.
This also has to do with the cost pressure in view of the transformation in the automotive industry: “The tower is not our core business.” Every year, a sum of “under one million” euros flows into maintaining the tower.
There is currently no timetable for the demolition, emphasized Baumert.
However, a so-called demolition notice in accordance with the Lower Saxony building regulations was submitted to the construction department of the state capital Hanover on February 8th.
“As owners of the tower, our primary goal is to ensure long-term traffic safety,” he said.
However, according to the report, the “durability” of the top-heavy tower is currently not guaranteed.
In 2020, a chunk of concrete the size of a brick came loose from the tower at a height of around 70 meters.
Nobody got hurt.
The background was an old building defect, as Baumert said.
Since then, industrial climbers have repeatedly been seen checking the facade of the old television tower.
Baumert also spoke of further spalling and microcracks, and the corrosion was progressing.
dpa