Elektrownia Pilchowice, Hydroelectric power plant in Pilchowice, Poland.
Elektrownia Pilchowice is a hydroelectric power plant on the Bóbr River in Pilchowice, Poland. The facility includes a 62-meter-high dam with six Francis turbines spanning 280 meters across the water.
Construction began in 1904 and Emperor Wilhelm II inaugurated the facility on November 16, 1912, following the devastating 1897 flood that showed the need for flood control. The project merged two important goals: power generation and community protection.
The power station demonstrates how early industrial engineering brought electricity and flood protection to the Bóbr Valley communities. It shaped the region and remains a symbol of how technology changed local life.
The dam allows visitors of various activity levels to explore the technical structure and look out over the water. The best access is from the shoreline area where you can see the construction and reservoir from different angles.
A 400-meter tunnel was dug under Castle Mountain using only basic hand tools like pickaxes and shovels, with no modern machinery available. This feat of manual labor is remarkable given the technical limitations of the time and shows the determination of the workers.
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