Wasserwerk am Hochablass, Hydroelectric power station in Spickel-Herrenbach, Augsburg, Germany

Wasserwerk am Hochablass is a former drinking-water plant in Augsburg, built in late-classicist style, whose machine hall arches over the Neubach canal. Its yellow west facade has grooved banding, a round-arched entrance with dark wooden double doors behind an iron grille, and a triangular pediment on two pale stone columns. Inside, black cast-iron flywheels, steel rods and green cylindrical housings stand on patterned tile floors beneath slender columns.

In 1876 Augsburg's council chose the Hochablass weir site so that Lech water could drive the pumps; building began that year under city engineer David Endres, and the plant opened on 1 October 1878. Three Henschel-Jonval turbines drove three double-piston pumps through a shared 'Königswelle' shaft, keeping a constant 5-bar mains pressure without a high reservoir. During the 1910 flood the steam engine kept the city supplied for months.

The engineering museum inside displays how water technology developed over time through machinery and exhibits showing the city's water management. Visitors can see how communities depend on water power and how this shaped local life.

The facility is accessible to visitors and offers guided tours at scheduled times where you can see the machinery and museum displays firsthand. It helps to check opening times in advance and wear comfortable shoes for walking through the building.

The hall earned the nickname "Temple of Technology" for its machinery and architecture. Inside, colourful wall paintings and a terrazzo floor survive, and the water was pumped into four 10-metre-high pressure vessels to hold the mains at a constant 5 bar, so no elevated reservoir was needed.