Kraftwerk Hirschfelde
THE ABANDONED POWER PLANT IN GERMANY
Kraftwerk Hirschfelde was a power station. Most of the site is now abandoned, the protected buildings were a museum for some years, but are abandoned again in 2017.
The history of the building began in 1909 with plans to construct a power plant in Hirschfelde. By 1911, the plant was operational with a capacity of 3,200 KW. In 1914, the installation of four turbogenerators and 16 boilers expanded its capacity to 14.1 MW. The completion of Plant II in 1918 further increased its output to 110 MW, and by 1937, it averaged 156 MW. During the DDR era, the plant sourced coal from the adjacent Polish open-pit mine, Turów, and was known as ‘Kraftwerk Friedensgrenze’.
80 years
The power plant ceased operations in 1992 after over 80 years of service. During that time, it employed approximately 5,000 people and generated 71.3 million MWh of energy. Economic factors led to its closure. Concurrently, Machine Room II, along with its technical installations, and the Administration Building were designated as protected monuments.
Subsequently, parts of Kraftwerk Hirschfelde were converted into a delightful museum. However, the museum was compelled to shut down in 2017. My visit to Kraftwerk Hirschfelde occurred in 2016.
