Old wastewater treatment plant - Praha, Czech republic
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Klubíčkovi
N 50° 06.688 E 014° 23.964
33U E 457056 N 5551197
The wastewater traetment plant museum is a listed industrial sight (at the same time) one of the most interesting industrial architecture objects in the Czech Republic.
Waymark Code: WMEGKY
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 05/28/2012
Views: 72
The development of sewerage and waste water treatment
in Prague
The way we dispose of waste generated in the course of human activities is a clear sign of the cultural, social and technical levels of our society, clearer than the number of banking houses in the country or the weight of steel produced per capita. The understanding of the requirement to drain waste water has been developed only gradually and over a very long period.
Most cities in ancient Greece and Rome developed complex networks of sewers draining waste water into the nearest watercourse. Among the most famous ones, there is the Cloaca Maxima in Rome, whose construction was started during the reign of Tarquinius Superbus. According to preserved records, these ancient times witnessed first attempts to dispose of centrally drained waste water by the use of methods nowadays promoted as „natural treatment“ (e.g. absorbing water into porous soils used in ancient Greece).
Cloaca Maxima
In comparison with ancient cities, medieval Europe was filthy and unhealthy, resulting in a very poor public hygiene. Municipal waste and animal excrements, piled up in the streets of medieval settlements, were washed away by rain and infiltrated water wells, from which the infection spread farther. There was nothing resembling what we now understand as sewerage network and the City of Prague was no exception. The first real sewer was constructed in 1660 in the Jesuit Complex of Clementinum. Water from a fountain washed waste from toilets and kitchens away into the river of Vltava.
The understanding of sewerage requirements did not change until the 18th century. The progress is associated particularly with F.A.Hergeth (1741 - 1800), a professor at the Prague Technical University. His plans were the basis for the development of the first systematic sewerage network, which length reached approwimately 19 km. Another construction period followed between the years 1818 - 1820, initiated by Count Rudolf Chotek, the supreme governor for The Czech Lands. During this period, the network was extended by 44 km, draining waste water into Vltava without any treatment. The necessity to construct a modern sewerage became more and more important and matured in professional and political circles too.
The first public tender was announced by the Municipal Council in 1884, but none of the projects satisfied the demanded criteria. In 1888 a City Sewerage Office was founded to collect all missing data, carry out a detailed levelling plan of Prague and to analyse the statistics regarding the rain and underground water. In 1891, two projects were made and the Municipal Council invited an independent authority from abroad to stand as arbiter to them.
Sir William Heerlein Lindley
The evaluation of the two projects was carried out by the costruction consultant at Frankfurt am Main, Ing. William Heerlein Lindley (1854 - 1917). After ascertaining the situation in Prague, Lindley evaluated the projects in detail but did not recommend either of them for construction and subsequently submitted his own project of 100 km sewerage leading into sewage works located at Bubeneè. It was accepted by the Municipal Authorities in 1894 and the building permit was issued in January 1895.
The construction of the sewage works was commisioned to Quido Bìlský and started in September 1901. The complete structure was finished in 1905. On June 27, 1906, one - year pilot run was launched. After correction of operational troubles, official approval inspections were carried out in May and June 1907.
Lindley´s sewage works was in service until 1967, when a modern waste water treatment plant was put into operation. Due to frequent difficulties of the new plant, the historic building was maintained as an emergency backup and even in the early 1980s, the sluge was still pumped by using the eighty-year-old pumps made in 1902!This fact is probably the main reason why the old sewage works survived to see better times. The forgotten building was discovered by a team of enthusiasts who begun its gradual restoration. On April 26, 1991, the sewage works became a listed site of national heritage and the idea of transforming the unique technical structure to a museum matured.
In 1992, Nadace Ekotechnického musea (Ekotechnicke museum Foundation) was formed from the group of enthusiasts, later transformed into Ekotechnické museum, o.p.s. (ngo), which merged with Muzeum Stará Cistírna, o.p.s in 2011. The operation of the museum is financed neither by the city magistrate nor from other public budgets. Most of money required to operate the museum comes from own activities, mainly renting it's space for social and other events and for films shooting such as Žebrácká opera, Amerika, Záhada hlavolamu, Šakalí léta, Zdivocelá zeme, Bídníci etc. This combination of museum and commercial usage isn't without problems but it seems to be the only viable solution, at least for now.
On June 1, 2010, the Wastewater treatment plant in Bubenec, Prague, became a national historic landmark.
Muzeum Stará Cistírna is a non-profit organisation registered with the Municipal Court in Prague.
The following activities are the mainstay of the museum work:
industrial real estates management, support of their restoration and further utilization.
support of saving movable technical equipment.
creation and exhibition of own collections of movable technical equipment.
Address::
Papírenská 6
Praha, Praha hl.město Czech republic
16000
Year built: 1906
Year converted: 1994
Web page: [Web Link]
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