Sitkunai Transmission Station

Identification

Map

Facts

• This is the main transmitting center of Lithuania The decition to build this transmitting site came in 1937, because by that time, Lithuania was poorly covered by radio signals. Building works started in 1939, but soon WW2 broke out. The transmitter, ordered from Standard Telephone & Cables (STC), wasn't delivered and served as BBC transmitter in Brookmans Park for many years. Empty transmitter building got almost no damage in WW2 (only power house was destroyed) and was used as military compoun in German occupation 1941-1944, as primary school under early Soviet occupation. In late 40s Soviets decided to use the site in a way it should be used -- as a major shortwave and mediumwave transmitting center. FIrst transmitters arived to Sitkunai at 1951-1952, those were made in pre-war Germany (Telefunken "Olympia"), dismantled from site in East Germany. Soviet authorites tried to hide the true site of this important transmitter, even in early 90s it was still registered as "Petrozavodsk", "Konevo" (near Leningrad/St.Petersburg) or "Kaliningrad" in Soviet (later Russian) official transmitter lists.