Vodní elektrárna Na Štvanici / Štvanice Hydroelectric Power Station - Prague - Hydroelectric Power Stations on Waymarking.com

In Prague centre you can find only one working power plant - it's small Štvanice Hydroelectric Power Station, built on Štvanice island in 1913-1914.

On the western end of the Prague biggest island, Štvanice, there is a distinctive industrial architecture in style of Art Nouveau, which is a technical monument. At the end of the 19th century, when the matter of making the Vltava river navigable was dealt with, the idea arouse that small water power stations supplying Prague households with energy and illuminating the city could be built. Two of them were built on the island. One was near the former Praha - Tešnov railway station, the water was conducted there by an underground tunnel and flew off into the Rohanský channel. But in 1929 the river arm was backfilled and the water power station was cancelled.

However, the other plant has been preserved up to these days. It was built in the 1913-1914 in connection with work on the Helmovský weir. The project of its service building was developed by architect Alois Dlabac, who was inspired by the shape of some palace building in France. A five-storey rectangular tower with the height of 22 m and ground plan of 7.5 × 7.5 m dominates the western part of the building. Its top floor is circular, built as a gazebo; the roof is dome-shaped. When constructing the plant, a 4-m elevation difference of the Helmovský weir surface was used. Three Francis turbines manufactured by Kolben & Danek Company, each with an output of 400 kW worked there. The plant was built by the Kapsa & Müller Company. It was one of the first concrete constructions in Prague. The unique technical equipment, which included a gear wheel with wooden teeth, endured in operation incredibly long – until 1972 when the plant was shut down due to a complete wear and tear. As a result of the energy crisis in the early 80s, it was decided to reconstruct and build small hydroelectric power plants, and so from 1984 the Štvanice plant was also reconstructed provided that the original appearance of its service building and embankment walls would be preserved. It was found that the foundations of the building were imposed only on wooden piles in gravel, and so they had to be gradually pulled down to bedrock and secured by grouting and micro piles. Also the tower had to be underpinned by steel girders.

A new water power plant is located underground and even outside the ground plan of the building. Three Kaplan turbines with a diameter of 3.5 m and a total power of 5.7 MW, which can be compared to an approximate consumption of Prague street lighting, work there. The new facility is controlled remotely. The reconstructed Štvanice plant was put into operation in 1988.