Maxwerk Hydroelectric Power Plant

The Maxwerk, built in 1895, is the oldest power plant still in operation on the Auer Mühlbach. A damped turbine regulator was therefore included in the design of the turbine system at the Maxwerk, which always determines the optimum between water volume and gradient and regulates the turbine height in such a way that an energy yield that remains as constant as possible is guaranteed. This was a technical masterpiece at the time. Two dynamo machines were used to generate energy, each delivering 225 amps at an output voltage of 660 volts, i.e. almost 300 kilowatts. The electricity generated was fed into the public grid via the control center of the nearby Muffat plant. In addition to its technical sophistication, the Maxwerk is also an architectural specialty. It should not disturb the park character of the Isar floodplain below the Maximilianeum and was therefore designed in the style of a baroque garden or hunting lodge. Since the extension of the Auer Mühlbach was viewed as an impairment of the environment, it was captured in a concrete tube in the last section over 380 m underground. At that time, city streams were not regarded as valuable landscape design elements, but rather as visually unattractive energy suppliers and disposal arteries.
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