Hydroelectric Station on Pasleka River, Braniewo

The history of this hydraulic structure begins in the 14th century and clearly shows all the stages of the economic development of the region. In 1341, the Warmian Bishop Herman of Prague initiated the construction of a dam and a large mill (Wielki Młyn Miejski). The mill belonged to the bishopric and provided flour to the entire region. By the end of the 18th century, the mill had fallen into disrepair and had not been used for almost a century. In 1857, Ignatz Grunau, an entrepreneur from Elbing, bought the abandoned structure, replaced the rotten wooden dam with a stone one, and equipped concrete spillways to the impellers. The new dam was about 30 meters long and provided a working water level drop of 2.5-3 meters. On November 13 of the same year, the renovated enterprise was officially put into operation, receiving the name of the Large District Mill (Grosse Amtsmuhle). In the 1930s, the electrical engineering company Ostpreußenwerk AG converted the mill into a power plant. Two turbines, manufactured at the Schichau plant in Elbing, powered generators with a total capacity of 400 kilowatts, which fully covered the needs of the city at that time. This was a very high result for such a small hydroelectric facility. The success was ensured by the unique vertical turbines of the Francis system with an operating frequency of 81 revolutions per minute. One of the turbines had a dual design, ensuring efficient operation even at the lowest water level. In 1945, during the battles for Branevo, the station and its equipment were almost completely destroyed by Soviet aircraft and restoration began only in the late fifties. Polish engineers decided to keep the unique turbines, which caused a lot of problems, which nevertheless managed to be successfully solved. The renovated hydroelectric power station was put into operation in 1964.

..

..

..

..

..

..