Kraftwerk P was a lignite-fired power plant built in 1926 to produce power for the local coal mines. At the time it was one of the most modern power plants in Europe. At the end of WW2, the plant closed down for four weeks until the Soviets took over and put it back into use again. In 1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the plant was taken off the grid and it became property of the state. It was deemed too expensive to convert the energy source from lignite to natural gas so it was decommissioned. In 2001, it reopened as an industrial heritage museum and was also used as an events space. In recent years (unsure when exactly) the museum ceased operations so it is currently abandoned and the future of the site is uncertain.
I recently joined my brother and my niece for a week of inter railing across Europe. I'd seen a couple of pictures of this control room pop up recently so thought I'd check if it was anywhere near where we were going. Turned out it was just 3 hours drive from one of our destinations so I decided to hire a car for the day and take a detour. It was quite an expensive excursion in the end as the hire company charged me 80 euros to take the car into another country. I thought about taking it there without telling them but they make you sign a form agreeing to pay a fine of £1K if they catch you so I decided it wasn't worth the risk. Upon asking why there was such a high charge they replied "because we can". At least they were honest I guess. Anyway, I knew I would regret not going so I paid the charge and set off. I'm glad I did, as it was worth it to see this art deco control room in pristine condition. The rest of the site was pretty impressive as well although I didn't get to see it all due to time constraints.* I also visited another control room nearby thanks to a tip-off from @aitakaitov, who kindly gave me a few tips for this place as well. Top man. Once I was done there I treated myself to an epic German doner kebab and left the country feeling pretty satisfied.
Several bars were set up in here when it was used as an events space
The main event
*I spent far too long in the control room
Cheers for looking
I recently joined my brother and my niece for a week of inter railing across Europe. I'd seen a couple of pictures of this control room pop up recently so thought I'd check if it was anywhere near where we were going. Turned out it was just 3 hours drive from one of our destinations so I decided to hire a car for the day and take a detour. It was quite an expensive excursion in the end as the hire company charged me 80 euros to take the car into another country. I thought about taking it there without telling them but they make you sign a form agreeing to pay a fine of £1K if they catch you so I decided it wasn't worth the risk. Upon asking why there was such a high charge they replied "because we can". At least they were honest I guess. Anyway, I knew I would regret not going so I paid the charge and set off. I'm glad I did, as it was worth it to see this art deco control room in pristine condition. The rest of the site was pretty impressive as well although I didn't get to see it all due to time constraints.* I also visited another control room nearby thanks to a tip-off from @aitakaitov, who kindly gave me a few tips for this place as well. Top man. Once I was done there I treated myself to an epic German doner kebab and left the country feeling pretty satisfied.
Several bars were set up in here when it was used as an events space
The main event
*I spent far too long in the control room
Cheers for looking
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