Sender Mettlach

The Sender Mettlach stands in the Saarland hills southwest of Mettlach village. It is a steel lattice tower built to broadcast radio signals for the Saarländischer Rundfunk. The tower rises above wooded slopes that look down on the winding Saar River. The site mainly serves the area around the great Saarschleife bend. It carries FM radio programmes and now carries digital radio on DAB+ channel 9A. The DAB signal is sent in vertical polarisation so that receivers pick it up clearly. Before digital television replaced analogue, the tower also carried TV signals for local viewers. Visitors see a tall steel framework tower set among tall trees. The tower has no public viewing gallery but offers a clear signal for radios in the valley below. Walkers on the nearby Saar-Hunsrück-Steig trail pass close enough to spot the lattice structure against the sky. The surrounding forest and river views make the short detour worthwhile.