NäsinneulaTower (Tampere, Finland)
Observation tower Näsinneula
The observation tower Näsinneula 168 meters tall is located on the shore of Lake Näsinjärvi, approximately 15 minutes walk away from Tampere’s center. The tower, which is an integral part of the amusement park Särkänniemi, is the tallest tower in Scandinavia.
In the upper section of the tower there are viewing decks and a restaurant which rotates around its axis. From the top of the tower there is a splendid view over the city’s center and suburbs, as well as of LakeNäsinjärvi.
The idea to build the tower belongs to the former mayor of the city, Erkki Lindfors. The thought came to him after a trip to city Kuopio, where as early as in the 1960s, an observation tower had been already built. Mister Lindfors proposed to build the same kind of tower, but taller. The project was realized in 1971.
A group of construction workers from Hungary erected the main section of the construction in record breaking times – almost in thirty days. After the building was finished, the observation tower acquired the status of the Tampere’s landmark.
The first floor is fifteen meters above the water level of LakeNäsinjärvi, and the observation deck is one hundred and twenty meters above the level of the lake. On the observation deck there is a café called Pilvilinna, where one can have a cup of coffee or tea, while admiring the wonderful views. On the second floor there is a restaurant.
Visitors are brought to the observation platform by two elevators moving with the speed of six meters per second. These are the fastest passenger elevators in Finland. If need be, one can come down from the top of the tower by a staircase, but in this case he or she will have to walk down more than seven hundred steps.
On the top of the tower there is a beacon; its light informs the city dwellers of the weather for that day. If the light from the beacon is green – rain is expected, if it is yellow – the weather will be fair.
This material is taken from web-resource: http://www.helsinki.ru