Swedish Broadcasting Museum

In the Bondebacka area of Motala is the original home of Sweden’s first national broadcasting station, built by the telegraph board in 1927. It was located in the centre of Sweden so broadcasts could reach across the country from Gothenburg to Stockholm. A Marconi long-wave transmitter with a power of 30kW was installed. Two masts were built 120-m high with a 140-m drum antenna between them. The modernist buildings were designed by the architect Carl Åkerblad. In 1934 the transmitter power was increased to 150kW with directional antennas that could make shortwave broadcasts to the Americas. Television and FM transmitters were added in the 1950s but in 1962 broadcasting was relocated to Orlunda. The site has been a museum since 1976. The transmitter hall is preserved with its equipment from 1935 and examples of early transmitters. Consumer radios made by the Swedish company Luxor are also on display. The two great masts are still a landmark.