Holešovická elektrárna Other

Holešovická elektrárna, also known as the Centre, is a major industrial site in Prague Holešovice. It was built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The complex originally served as a key source of electricity for operation of Prague trams and public lighting. Since 2002 it has been protected as a cultural monument for its technical and historical value.

The construction of the complex was started by the Electric Enterprises of the capital city of Prague in 1898. The project was created during the period of rapid industrialisation and development of urban infrastructure, when electricity was being massively expanded in European cities. Construction works began by concrete foundation in winter 1898 to 1899. The administrative building was completed until the end of 1898. For flood protection, boiler rooms and machinery spaces were located 90 centimetres higher than the water level during the flood in 1845.

Architectural is an industrial building using a combination of brick masonry and iron structures. Four chimneys were built in the area. The last of them was built between 1911 and 1912 and reaches the light in the crown 4 meters. The original two chimneys were 73 meters high. Technology equipment has been expanding over the years, for example by Löffler boilers installed in 1938. A number of major companies were involved in the supply of machinery and equipment, such as the First Czech Moravian Machine Factory, Breitfeld, Danek and Associates, Ringhoffer, Kolben and Křižík.

The power plant was not only a source of energy, it included a tram road and central workshops. The wagon started operation on 2nd July 1900 and in the beginning it used up to 70 trams. The railway yard in the area was also used after the cancellation of the road yard in 1939 for freight transport of transformers. The last remains of the tracks were removed in 1955. In 1925, a long-distance supply of heat started, leading to further development of the company. In 1938, the operator in U Power Station Street had two residential houses built for his employees.

Interesting is the nickname Three phases and zero. It was given to the power plant by the students of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering according to the number of their chimneys. In the 1970s, the boiler room underwent modernization to burn heavy fuel oil. There was also a partial demolition and shortening of the objects of the road.

Today, Holešovická elektrárna is a reminder of the technical progress and development of Prague's energy. For visitors, it is a valuable document of industrial architecture, which is preserved for future generations thanks to historical protection. A tour of this area near the Holešovice Exhibition Centre offers a unique insight into the history of urban infrastructure.