Power Plant Cyklonkessel 🇩🇪

This coal-fired power plant in Germany reveals a thriving past. It was built in a former paper factory built in 1883, intended to supply it with electricity. Witness to a time when more than 5,000 workers animated the valley with neighboring sites and where this H paper factory was then the largest paper manufacturer in Germany, the site unfortunately declined in the mid-2000s, following difficulties financial in 1990 which precipitated the sale and closure of the site, which in the end only had around a hundred workers.

For a factory power plant, this one is spectacular to say the least as there are actually two turbine rooms and two boiler rooms. The oldest turbines are Steinmuller and Siemens from the 1920s-1930s. Presumably, the two more modern Siemens turbines and the second boiler were added around the mid-1950s to replace the old installations which were never dismantled, much to our delight. The nickname of the place comes from the second boiler, more modern, called KSG Steinmuller Cyklonkessel as indicated on the sign, also dated 1956. An innovation at the time with a "cyclone" mechanism allowing coal to be burned efficiently, introduced by a vertical loading system.

I did not have the opportunity to see what remains of the paper factory, or even if there is anything left to see, my interest being particularly focused on this part of the factory with its wonderful turbines and control panels. However, all the facilities are heavily vandalized today, with graffiti and broken objects everywhere. The decline of the site raises the usual questions about the preservation of our industrial heritage and the education of our generation. For the first time on my site, I took the liberty of massively retouching my photos to remove the majority of tags present in the turbine rooms as well as the Cyklonkessel boiler. My way of restoring a little prestige to this place which is now in decline and probably doomed to disappear one day or another...