Station Profile - Bremen 936 kHz

Written by Hansjörg Biener
Translated by Herman Boel

Since 1924 these stations have broadcasted from Bremen:
Bremer Mittelwelle until 1945
Bremen-Horn 1945-1999
Bremen-Oberneuland 1999-

Bremer Mittelwelle until 1945

The first North German transmitter was installed in Hamburg in 1924. After the transmitter inauguration it appeared that reception in Bremen was far from good. That is why the German Public Post services decided to install in the same year an extra transmitter in Bremen. On 30 November 1924 the Bremen transmitter was launched with the NORAG programme (Nordische Rundfunk AG). It was located in the telegraph office in Domsheide, a side building of the main Post Office. The studio was set in the city theatre's ballet room, was moved to the former industry museum in the Kaiserstraße in 1925, and was moved again in 1927 to the "Alten Stadtwaage", a renaissance building in the Bremer Langenstraße. The station had its own orchestra, the Bremer Norag-Quartett and a literature group, who called themselves "almost censorfree".

Bremen-Horn 1945-1999

Five days before the main transmitter in Hamburg, the Bremen station signed off on 28 April 1945 because of power shortage. In June 1945 the occupying forces used the transmitter to relay the AFN programme. As of 23 December 1945 the station directed itself to the Bremen population as "Radio Bremen - Station of the military government". After a long struggle over the financing of the station, Radio Bremen was handed over to the Germans in April 1949.

The medium wave station typically relayed the first programme, which as of 1968 was being called Hansawelle.

In the seventies Radio Bremen owned the MW station at Bremen-Leherfeld on 1079 kHz and at Bremerhaven-Bürgerpark on 1358 kHz (2 kW with a 56 mtr mast). The transmitter on 1079 kHz had an output of 100 kW during the day, which was reduced to 30 kW between sunset and sunrise in order to limit interference to co-channel stations. In anticipation of the new Geneva frequency plan (effective 1978) Radio Bremen switched to 936 kHz on 3 October 1977. Due to this new plan the Sender Bremerhaven was no longer needed during the day while at night the Sender Bremen and Bremerhaven broadcasted on the same channel. Bremen-Lehe was broadcasting with 100, while Bremerhaven only used around 5 kW. During the day the MW frequency provided an interference-free reception in Northern Germany up to Denmark and Holland.

The nineties saw the end of the transmitter site Bremen-Lehe, which was close to the A27 motorway. In October 1996 the shortwave broadcasts on 6190 were cancelled, while the FM and television broadcasts were moved to another site. On 31 January 1999 both medium wave masts were blown up.

QSL card Radio Bremen

Bremen-Oberneuland 1999 - Funkhaus Europa 1999-2002

The new location of the 936 kHz transmitter was a little east of the old transmitter site of Bremen-Oberneuland. With the new location came also new programmes. As of 4 May 1999 the WDR produced Funkhause Europa was transmitted 24 hours a day on 936 kHz in Bremen. Funkhaus Europa is a cosmopolitan radio show with programme segments of WDR, Radio Bremen, SFB 4 Multikulti, foreign services and the traditional programmes for foreigners. According to manager Karl-Heinz Klostermeier the collaboration creates new jobs at the station while Radio Bremen gives access to new working areas within the ARD group. On 1 November 2001 WDR and Radio Bremen signed an agreement for further cooperation: the programmes of the RB-Europa editorial office and the hourly Europa news broadcasts by RB-2 were integrated into the Funkhaus Europa programme.

"bremen eins"

As of 1 May 2002 Radio Bremen replaced the the Funkhaus Europa programme which was broadcast until then on 936 kHz, by its own first programme. "bremen eins“ could then be received from Kiel to Kassel and from Osnabrück to Rostock via medium wave.
According to an analysis in 2002 the new programme reached 200,000 listeners withing one year. Manager Dr. Heinz Glässgen explains the succes of the first Radio Bremen programme by the journalistic professionalism and the consequent attention to public interest. The numbers show that the station succeeded in uniting the listener's desires and the work of the programme makers. Bremen eins focuses on 40 year olds. In the newscasts the regional political items, economics, culture and sport take an important place.