Kékestető TV Tower, Communication tower on Kékes mountain, Hungary.
The Kékestető TV Tower is a 180-metre reinforced-concrete and steel transmitter on the 1,014-metre summit of Kékes. Its lower 80 metres are concrete, the next 80 metres steel, and the top 20 metres a plastic cylinder stiffened with glass fibre. The lookout level sits 45 metres up, with an enclosed café below an open terrace.
A 20-meter wooden watchtower was built in 1889 by the Hungarian Carpathian Association before the current structure was constructed in 1981. This development marks the shift from early observation structures to modern broadcasting technology.
The tower's name comes from Kékes, the 1,014-metre summit of the Mátra where it stands, in the Gyöngyös district of Heves County. The 1889 wooden watchtower of the Hungarian Carpathian Association, rebuilt in 1926 and named after József Vass, began the tradition of climbing Kékes for the view; the present tower continues it with a lookout level 45 metres up.
The observation platform offers views of the surrounding area and is accessible year-round, though weather conditions should be considered. On clear days, visibility is excellent, but fog and clouds can significantly limit the view.
The tower was shortened from 180 to 151 metres in 2014, when a section of the steel structure was cut out during an antenna replacement. This removed the three ice-prone damping cables that had braced the tower and caused winter accidents. The renovated café and viewing terrace opened in November 2018.
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