Tail slate for Marnach
On 1 January 2016, the medium-wave transmitter site will finally close its doors after almost 60 years in operation, during which it gave generations of listeners their first taste of rock and pop and an opportunity to explore these new genres of music.
The now cult English-language station Radio Luxembourg broadcast on the famous "Two-O-Eight", a medium-wave frequency of 208 metres, until 1991. Its programmes were not only picked up in the UK, but also reached Scandinavia and even parts of Eastern Europe, where they had a lasting impact. Medium-wave broadcasts of the English programme were initially transmitted from the site in Junglinster, starting on 15 January 1951, and joined by programmes in Dutch in 1953. But on 14 December 1956, these broadcasts were moved to Marnach to guarantee better signal reception, primarily in the UK and Scandinavia. On 15 July 1957, Radio Luxemburg's day-time German-language programmes followed suit, becoming the success story we all know today.
The antennas erected on the high ground at Marnach in northern Luxembourg transmitted daily broadcasts to millions of listeners. However, the advent of FM broadcasts, offering superior listening comfort, gradually eroded the appeal of medium-wave transmissions, which goes some way towards explaining why broadcasts of medium-wave radio programmes were gradually abandoned. Nonetheless, the Marnach site managed to hang on to customers like Radio China International, which continued to appreciate the tremendous range covered by medium-wave transmissions.
In 2014, the Luxembourg government concluded an agreement with CLT-UFA on the site's closure under the terms of which the land it covered would be acquired by State. Meanwhile, the sites at Junglinster, Beidweiler and Hosingen continue transmitting long-wave, short-wave and FM radio broadcasts.
Eugène Muller, Head of Technical Services and Transmissions at BCE, says: "The closure of this site devoted to medium-wave transmissions marks the end of a major chapter in our history. Indeed, thanks to the English-language broadcasts by Radio Luxembourg and the German-language programmes of Radio Luxemburg, Marnach became a kind of umbilical cord linking us to millions of listeners in Europe."
The national anthem of Luxembourg will be broadcast for the last time on medium waves on 1 January at 01:00.
Our thanks to Mike Terry for spotting this item