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Grimeton Radio Station, Varberg Sweden
Built from 1922-1924, this still-functioning radio station pioneered transatlantic communication after World War I
During the COVID-19 crisis, UNESCO’s #ShareOurHeritage campaign brings you news directly from World Heritage site managers and online exhibits with Google Arts & Culture.
Located in southern Sweden, the Grimeton Radio Station World Heritage site lies within the “great circle”– an area without obstacles to radio waves– that is centred on New York, the hub of the transatlantic transmitting system. It consists of the transmitter equipment, including an aerial system with six enormous steel towers each 127metres high, buildings housing the original Alexanderson transmitter and short-wave transmitters with their antennae, as well as a residential area with staff housing. The station’s main buildings, built in the neoclassical style, were designed by architect Carl Åkerblad, and the antenna towers– the tallest constructions in Sweden at that time– were designed by structural engineer Professor Henrik Kreüger. Although the station is no longer in regular use, its equipment is maintained in operating condition. This site is unique as the only surviving example of a major transmitting station based on pre-electronic technology, and stands as a testimony to the earliest moment in a new era of communications.
As a testimony to connecting the traditional and modern modes of communication, the Land-of-Legends programme, selected as a good safeguarding practice under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, promotes the art of storytelling in southern Sweden.Traditional storytelling practices are used to exchange experiences and convey knowledge and values, and also help people cope with difficult collective and personal experiences. While traditional venues for storytelling may be disappearing, other modes of transmission, such as radio or new media, are revitalizing storytelling as a living art.
Discover the online exhibit of Grimeton Radio Station, with the technical support of Google Arts & Culture
Site manager Camille Lugnet tells us how Grimeton Radio Station is dealing with the COVID-19 crisis:
Read about Grimeton Radio Station in the World Heritage Review
See a video about Grimeton Radio Station (UNESCO/NHK Videos on Heritage)
Grimeton Radio Station website
UNESCO World Heritage Site Virtual Tours See all
During the COVID-19 crisis, UNESCO’s #ShareOurHeritage campaign brings you news directly from World Heritage site managers and online exhibits with Google Arts & Culture.
Located in southern Sweden, the Grimeton Radio Station World Heritage site lies within the “great circle”– an area without obstacles to radio waves– that is centred on New York, the hub of the transatlantic transmitting system. It consists of the transmitter equipment, including an aerial system with six enormous steel towers each 127metres high, buildings housing the original Alexanderson transmitter and short-wave transmitters with their antennae, as well as a residential area with staff housing. The station’s main buildings, built in the neoclassical style, were designed by architect Carl Åkerblad, and the antenna towers– the tallest constructions in Sweden at that time– were designed by structural engineer Professor Henrik Kreüger. Although the station is no longer in regular use, its equipment is maintained in operating condition. This site is unique as the only surviving example of a major transmitting station based on pre-electronic technology, and stands as a testimony to the earliest moment in a new era of communications.
As a testimony to connecting the traditional and modern modes of communication, the Land-of-Legends programme, selected as a good safeguarding practice under the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, promotes the art of storytelling in southern Sweden.Traditional storytelling practices are used to exchange experiences and convey knowledge and values, and also help people cope with difficult collective and personal experiences. While traditional venues for storytelling may be disappearing, other modes of transmission, such as radio or new media, are revitalizing storytelling as a living art.
Discover the online exhibit of Grimeton Radio Station, with the technical support of Google Arts & Culture
Site manager Camille Lugnet tells us how Grimeton Radio Station is dealing with the COVID-19 crisis:
Read about Grimeton Radio Station in the World Heritage Review
See a video about Grimeton Radio Station (UNESCO/NHK Videos on Heritage)
Grimeton Radio Station website
UNESCO World Heritage Site Virtual Tours See all
14 April 2020
Last update:20 April 2023
