A pair of steel masts of the Liblice B medium wave transmitter near České Brod, each 355 m high, will disappear from the country these days. According to sources, blasting is planned for October 12-16, 2026. The District Mining Office for Prague and Central Bohemia issued a blasting permit on September 3, and according to available information, the dismantling and removal of the steel structure should last until the end of November. The masts, which began to be built in 1975 and were completed in 1976, were the tallest structure in the Czech Republic so far. Their distance is 120 m and each is anchored by 15 steel cables.
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From Liblice A to Liblice B
The first transmitter in Liblice began broadcasting on October 27, 1931 at 617 kHz and was one of the most powerful in Europe. It consisted of two 150 m high masts (built between 1929 and 1931), which were demolished on August 11, 2004. The current masts were designed by the Prague Metallurgical Project, the electrical part by the Communications Research Institute (today's Testcom), and the construction was carried out by the Ostrava Metallurgical Assembly. Regular broadcasting began on December 1, 1978 at 639 kHz. Sources differ slightly on power details: one reports two Tesla transmitters totaling 1.5 MW, and later a single 750 kW transmitter, another halving from 1,500 kW due to cost. Both data coincide in the core: the operation gradually became cheaper.
| Data | Value according to sources |
|---|---|
| Mast height | 2 x 355 m |
| Frequency | 639 kHz |
| Original performance | 1.5 MW (two Tesla Hloubětín SRV 750 transmitters) |
| Later performance | 750 kW (according to one source, original power halved for cost reasons) |
| Elevators | ALIMAK up to a height of 350 m |
| Mast distance | 120 m |
After Český Rozhlas ended the regular broadcasting of the Dvojka program in Liblice, one more station appeared on 639 kHz. Country Radio broadcast here from autumn 2023 with a 20 kW solid-state transmitter and ended on March 31, 2025.
The end of medium wave broadcasting
Czech Radio turned off broadcasting from Liblíce on December 31, 2021. Along with it, it shut down eight other medium-wave and long-wave transmitters, including the Topolná long-wave transmitter. The reason was high operating costs; according to Czech Radio, it was tens of millions of crowns per year. For Country Radio, a nationwide DAB+ network, which provides better reach, was crucial and the willingness to bear the expense of replacing anchor cables was lacking. In addition, Czech Radio does not count on medium waves as a tool for crisis communication.
Why the maintenance did not pay off
České Radiokomunikace calculated the necessary work at approximately 170 million Czech crowns. They consist of the replacement of mooring ropes (CZK 120 million), anti-corrosion protection (CZK 25 million) and the repair or modernization of elevators (CZK 25 million). In addition, the replacement of ropes is urgent and is affected by the weather. The masts with a height of 355 m, which are anchored by 15 steel cables, are not a cosmetic item.
No commercial use that, according to the ČRA, would make economic sense was found. Even a possible transfer to a new owner would not solve the problem, according to one source, because the public offer for sale did not include the broadcast technology.
Rescue attempts
In July 2022, the association of friends of the village of Liblice launched a petition to save the masts, which was signed by 941 people. ČRA negotiated with the Ministries of Industry, Interior and Defense and the Fire and Rescue Service. The Senate Committee on Rural Development in 2025 supported preservation for possible crisis use. ČRA prepared two variants of keeping the transmitter for crisis communication, but the negotiations did not reach an agreement. Private considerations about the lookout tower and the museum also failed. The argument that AM will cover a large area and the signal will be picked up even by a simple receiver was not enough to find an investor or a state institution willing to finance the operation.
Video
CNN Prima NEWS report on the fight to preserve the tallest building in the Czech Republic:
New primacy and memory
The title of the tallest building in the Czech Republic will go to the Krašov broadcasting mast in the Pilsen region with a height of 347.5 m, i.e. 7.5 m lower than Liblice. Since 2018, Krašov has also served as the gnomon of a huge sundial with Roman numerals 3 m high.
The author of one of the articles in July 2024 built crystal without battery and with only an antenna, a diode and sensitive headphones with him, after a few months of the station's return, he picked up Country Radio from Liblíce. Such reception without power supply was possible thanks to a strong signal from Liblice.
The "Save the Český Brod transmitters" initiative plans at least documentation in the form of a 3D/VR model, a 4K video and an annual drone light show that would last two hours.
The demise of Liblíc shows that the operation of medium-wave transmitters with a power of hundreds of kilowatts and masts 355 m high has ceased to be profitable for the owner from a commercial point of view. But what about other reasons for preservation?