Isarwerk 1

Isarwerk 1 stands beside the Isar-Werkkanal in Munich’s Thalkirchen district. The canal runs west of the river for about twelve kilometres before returning to the Isar near the Braunauer Eisenbahnbrücke. A branch of the canal, the Floßkanal, leads to the Floßlände downstream. Upstream lies the Hinterbrühler See, fed by the same canal. The site is separated from the Isar itself by a short stretch of land. The power station is Munich’s oldest still-operating Isar hydroelectric plant. It was built between 1906 and 1908 to the designs of August Blössner as the city’s first municipal electricity works. In 1915 Francis turbines were installed, and in 1999 the plant became fully automated. From 2021 the station is being enlarged to add a new Kaplan turbine. Inside, three Francis-Doppelzwillingsturbines and three 800 kW generators produce the electricity. A new two-metre Kaplan turbine will raise total output to 3.6 MW after 2022. The brick building is listed as a Bavarian monument. Visitors see the machinery hall, the canal gates and the quiet stretch of water beside the works.