Fernmeldeturm Schwerte, Communication tower in Schwerte, Germany

The Fernmeldeturm Schwerte is a 158-meter-tall concrete tower standing in a forested area east of Dortmund. The structure serves radio broadcasting and supplies the region with various FM frequencies.

The Deutsche Bundespost built this transmission facility in 1977 and 1978 to expand telecommunications infrastructure across Germany. The Schwerte location was chosen to serve the Ruhr Valley and surrounding areas.

Locals call it the Heinrich-Turm, after former Schwerte mayor Heinrich Böckelühr. The nickname is the main cultural trace the tower has left; the structure itself is closed to the public and serves directional radio plus FM broadcasts for Dortmund and the surrounding area.

The tower stands in the Schwerter Wald, on Schwerte territory east of Dortmund's Sommerberg district. It is not open to the public, so there is no interior access or viewing platform; the 158-metre structure can only be seen from outside. Its FM signals serve Dortmund and the surrounding area.

The tower was the subject of a Federal Administrative Court ruling in 2007, which underscored its importance to the region's infrastructure. This case demonstrates how essential such facilities are to modern communications.