The hydroelectric plant in Liberec-Rudolfov is a new technical monument

Liberec - The hydroelectric power plant in Liberec - Rudolfov is a new technical monument. It was built in the 1920s and today it belongs to the Elbe River Basin and still generates electricity. There are very few technical monuments in Liberec; this one is interesting mainly because it is not just an empty shell in the form of a building, but the technology is also preserved. Moreover, it is in working condition, has undergone a major renovation, and thus has a future, said Petr Freiwillig from the National Heritage Institute in Liberec today, according to ČTK.
    The top hydroelectric power plant in Rudolfov in the Jizera Mountains is located on the outskirts of the regional capital. The designation "top" comes from its function - it assisted the coal power plant in Andělská Hora during peak demand. "The monument's value lies not only in the power plant's building by the renowned architect, Professor Arthur Payr of the German Technical University, but especially in the preserved complex of the construction, mechanical, and partly electrical components of the entire project, realized between 1925 and 1928," explained Freiwillig.
    According to heritage experts, the work is characterized by numerous technical features that are unique in the region. The project for the power plant had been prepared since 1908. The owner of the plant was the company Přespolní elektrárna Liberec, which was owned by the city of Liberec along with six neighboring municipalities and the company Johann Liebieg & Co. "In 1927, a major scandal erupted concerning the financing of the construction when the budgeted costs rose from 7.5 million crowns to an astronomical 26.1 million crowns. The event became the subject of an interpellation in the National Assembly of Czechoslovakia," added Freiwillig.
    The entire waterworks consists of several functional parts. According to Freiwillig, it begins with a dam and an inlet intake facility below the Bedřichov dam, continues with a three-kilometer long underground pipeline with two aqueducts and sediment catchment tanks. The plant includes a water lock, from where the water was directed via high-pressure pipes to the turbine, as well as a balancing tank. "There were actually two power plants - a high-pressure Pelton turbine located in the main building, and there is also a Francis turbine under the dam of the balancing tank," explained the heritage expert.
    There are 98 immovable cultural monuments in Liberec. The most well-known technical monument in the regional capital is the Harcov dam built between 1902 and 1904 according to the design of German architect Otto Intzem. However, the Liberec crematorium built between 1915 and 1917 according to the design of Rudolf Bitzan can also be considered a technical monument. The neo-Renaissance meteorological station, which has stood since 1898 near the Liberec town hall, as well as the mountain hotel and transmitter Ještěd completed in 1973 according to the design of architect Karel Hubáček, are undoubtedly also technical monuments.