Wasserkraftmuseum Ziegenrück

About the museum

Water power has been used in Ziegenrück since the Middle Ages: the Fernmühle on the Saale is first documented in 1258, and at times as many as eight water mills shaped the small town. Around 1900 the Fernmühle was converted into the first run-of-river hydropower plant on the upper Saale. Apart from minor alterations by Carl Zeiss Jena around 1920 and by VEAG in 1997, the facility has been preserved in its original condition.

Because of age and wear, the power plant was taken off the grid in 1965 and reopened as a museum in 1966. Since 1997 one of the two Francis shaft turbines has been running again, feeding 90 kW into the local grid; the turbine chamber was also opened to visitors that year. For demonstration purposes, the flywheel, five meters in diameter, and the 26-meter-long leather belt run at greatly reduced speed. Marble switchboards, a cogwheel with wooden teeth and old governors complete the listed technology. Today the museum is operated by Vattenfall.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a relief model of the upper Saale, about 26 square meters in size, showing the dams of the Saale cascade and explaining the reasons for and consequences of impounding the river. In the high-voltage room, flashovers, electric arcs and Tesla discharges are demonstrated. Other areas are devoted to old craft techniques with working models, log rafting and fishing, the geology of the region, historical diving technology and the town's history. In the outdoor grounds are turbines and water wheels, as well as a water wheel installation where visitors can operate scooping and lifting devices themselves.

Highlights

• Original, preserved Fernmühle run-of-river hydropower plant from 1900
• Walk-in turbine chamber with Francis shaft turbine
• Relief model of the Saale cascade with the dams of the upper Saale
• High-voltage demonstrations with electric arcs and Tesla discharges
• Water wheel installation to try out in the outdoor grounds

Permanent exhibitions

• Die Saalekaskade – A large relief model of the upper Saale shows the dams of the Saale cascade and explains why they were built and what consequences the impoundment had.
• Der Hochspannungsraum – Demonstrations with voltage flashovers, a traveling arc, corona discharge and Tesla discharges make high voltage tangible.
• Handwerk & Wasserkraft – Working models explain craft techniques that were once powered by water; also topics such as log rafting and fishing on the Saale.

Founded

1966

Operated by

Vattenfall

Admission & discounts

Free for holders of the Thuringia volunteer card (Thüringer Ehrenamtskarte). Card payment only (EC, Mastercard, Apple Pay and the like).

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Kids & families

• Hands-on stations

From mid-April to the end of October, visitors can set water wheels and scooping and lifting devices in motion themselves on an artificial watercourse in the outdoor grounds; not all models are currently working.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit