Saalachkraftwerk Bad Reichenhall

The Saalachkraftwerk stands in the Kirchberg district of Bad Reichenhall, a Bavarian town beneath the northern Alps. It is a run-of-river power station that generates single-phase traction current for the Deutsche Bahn. Water is drawn from the nearby Saalachsee, an artificial lake created for the plant. The complex includes the main powerhouse, two transformer buildings, and a former service residence. All these structures are now protected as monuments. The plant is one of Germany’s oldest still-operating railway power stations. Construction began in 1910 and finished in 1913, supplying the newly electrified lines to Freilassing, Berchtesgaden, and Salzburg. It replaced several local mills and small hydro plants whose streams vanished when the Saalach was diverted. Historic visits by King Ludwig III in 1915 and 1917 underline its importance in the region’s early electrical history. Visitors find the powerhouse beside the Saalachsee, its stone walls and tall windows recalling early 20th-century industrial design. Inside, the turbine hall houses original machinery, while the transformer buildings show where current was routed to the city grid and to the Wacker chemical works. Outside, the dam at Kibling and the long headrace tunnel mark the scale of the original engineering. Views across the lake and up to the surrounding mountains complete the scene.