The power plant building’s design shows modernist and functionalist influences. The entire complex remains a harmonious part of the surrounding landscape, being located on the site of the now-vanished municipal mills. To this day, the complex remains in constant use and continues to serve its original purpose.

History

The hydroelectric power plant was constructed in the years 1926-1927, based on the technical design supplied by J.M. Voith, a German company based in Heidenheim. The building was erected on the site of an 18th-century half-timbered mill accompanied by a barrage, which was lost to the blaze in 1925. The existing, historic hydroengineering structures were incorporated into the new hydroelectric power plant complex. The Trzebiatów barrage has served various industrial purposes from the Middle Ages, becoming the site of various mills, a tannery, a fulling mill and a timber mill. The power plant featured a single Francis turbine, its mechanical components being the work of the company J.M. Voith, while the electrical equipment was supplied by Brown Boweri & Co from Mannheim. After 1945, the entire complex was subjected to conservation and renovation works on an ongoing basis. In 2014, the water turbine was replaced, with the original Francis turbine being allowed to remain on site as a historical exhibit. Today, the Trzebiatów power plant forms part of the ENEA S.A. group.

Description

The hydroelectric power plant complex is located on the north-eastern side of the old town, on the eastern side of the nearby palace. The building is positioned alongside the Rega river canal, on the southern side of Mostowa street. The bridge spanning the canal which supplies water to the power plant, positioned north of the structure itself, facilitates access to the power station area. The complex consists of the hydroelectric power plant building with the water turbine assembly, the barrage consisting of three canals as well as the weir on the Reda river.

The hydroelectric power plant building is positioned on a small islet; it was designed on a rectangular floor plan and constructed directly above the water turbine chamber. The entrance into the structure is positioned on the eastern side thereof. The building features a compact shape and an open-space interior; it is covered with a tall gable roof. The foundations and ground-floor level walls are insulated concrete structures; the upper portions of the wall are masonry structures made of ceramic brick, with both the outer and inner surfaces of the walls covered with plaster. The building features reinforced concrete ceilings throughout, with the ceiling above the turbine chamber taking the form of a barrel vault. The roofs feature a wooden roof truss clad with corrugated tin designed to mimic the appearance of roof tiles. The building features industrial-type metal windows divided into small rectangular panes. The double access gate with a tall transom light is made of wood and metal. The façades feature the original layout and décor, their design having strong functionalist influences. The walls are accentuated with broad lesenes topped with plain cornices and feature a colour scheme based on the use of various shades of blue. The front (northern) façade follows a two-axial layout, its design accentuated by tall windows divided into three sections each. The building was originally fitted with a single-runner Francis turbine with a vertical shaft having an output of 155 kilowatts in total. Today, the original turbine assembly has been disconnected and put on display in front of the power station building.

The barrage consists of the water canal with weir, the working canal with the turbine chamber and the relief canal. The canals flow alongside the islet and then merge about 20 metres away from the power plant, ahead of Mostowa street. The canal banks are masonry structures made of stone, brick and concrete, which proves that the waterworks were being repaired and modified on an ongoing basis throughout the years. The eastern canal which supplied water to the turbine is closed off by a weir positioned at the level of the power plant itself, designed to maintain the water level at a constant height. The walls along the weir are reinforced by a retaining wall, with its abutments also serving as supports of the bridge. The weir itself is a bipartite structure consisting of a wooden gate with the width of 2 metres and a siphon spillway (4 metres in total width) equipped with a manual mechanism based on the use of cogwheels. The weir positioned ahead of the power plant building ensures that the level of the waters supplied through the working canal to the turbine chamber remain at an elevated height of up to 1.6 metres. The weir itself features a bipartite gate, operated manually using a gear hoist, with a reinforced concrete walkway positioned directly above the weir. The relief canal runs alongside the side of the escarpment on the western side of the power plant, its total width being 4.8 metres. The canal is dammed with a gated weir designed to ensure a consistent water level on the barrage. The moveable section (gate) of the weir is made of wooden beams, allowing the water level to be increased up to the height of 1.4 metres.

State property (site owned by a state-owned joint-stock company).

The site (visible in its entirety) can be viewed from the outside, from the nearby Mostowa and Nadbrzeżna roads. Access to the site itself must be agreed upon with the Płoty Branch of ENEA S.A.

compiled by Waldemar Witek, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Szczecin, 23-07-2015.

Bibliography

• Kulesza-Szerniewicz E., Szkic do przewodnika po zabytkach techniki woj. zachodnio-pomorskiego, [in:] Atrakcyjność turystyczna mostów zwodzonych. Międzynarodowe seminarium Dziedzictwo Techniki dla Przyszłości, M. Opęchowski (ed.), Szczecin 2004, pp. 159-174.
• Witek M.W., Młyny, spichlerze, magazyny w przestrzeni miejskiej powiatu gryfickiego. [in:] Trzebiatów - Spotkania Pomorskie 2012, J. Kochanowska (ed.), Trzebiatów 2013, pp. 248-266.