Czechia to Lose Its Tallest Structure as Liblice Towers Are Demolished in October

In mid-October, Czechia will lose the country's tallest structure: two steel radio transmitter masts in the village of Liblice near Český Brod will be brought down in a controlled explosion. This pair of 355-metre towers has loomed over the surrounding area for half a century and, according to the site's owner, would cost more to repair than to demolish.

Half a Century Above Český Brod

Owners of neighbouring properties have already received notices: during the blasting operation, being present within the designated safety zones will be prohibited. Once demolished, the landmark that has been part of the local landscape for half a century will disappear from the horizon.

The current pair of steel masts was built in 1976, with the ceremonial launch taking place on 28 December 1976. Each mast reaches a height of 355 metres — taller than the Eiffel Tower including its antenna (330 metres). At the time of construction, the structures were considered a remarkable technical achievement.

Broadcasting at 1,500 Kilowatts

Originally, the transmitter broadcast the second programme of what was then Czechoslovak Radio on medium wave. The combined output of the two towers reached 1,500 kilowatts, allowing the signal to cover a significant part of the country.

Czech Radio stopped broadcasting on medium wave at the end of 2021. Country Radio continued transmitting on the same frequency from Liblice for a while afterward — it shut down on 31 March 2025. Since then, no radio station has broadcast from the site.

Repairs Would Have Cost 170 Million Crowns

České Radiokomunikace, the company that owns the masts, found no further use for them, and keeping them standing would have required extensive and costly repairs. The most urgent task would have been a complete replacement of the guy-wire anchors, at a cost of roughly 120 million crowns.

Restoring the structures' anti-corrosion protection would have cost about another 25 million crowns, and repairing the lifts inside the masts roughly the same amount. According to estimates, the most essential work alone would have cost around 170 million crowns.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz