Žilina Gallery :: Fotogaléria mesta Žiliny

75 – Power station building, Republic Street 5

Turistická informačná tabuľka č. 75 s QR kódom na budove Spojených elektrární severozápadného Slovenska v Žiline
(Foto: 8. 3. 2014)

Power station building: A steam-electric power station was built by Žilina Power Station holding company on municipal land located between what is now Republic Street and M. R. Štefánik Street. The town had a share in the company and land amounting to 2,160 square meters was transferred to the ownership of Žilina Power Station for the construction of the plant. In 1906 the town and Power Station agreed that the town would have the right to 50 years’ free electricity for streets, roads, public squares and bridges within Žilina as well as electricity supplied for public lighting and other, mainly industrial, purposes. The town had already insisted that the new electricity supplied to the main streets and squares be provided via underground cables and that any problems with the electric lighting had to be fixed within 24 hours otherwise the Power Station would have to pay fines of twenty crowns per day when there was no supply. At that time lighting was supplied via 190 lamps (58 watts), 30 lamps (116 watts) and 12 arc lamps1 (10 watts). The power station began operating at 120 volts DC on 18 February 1908. The machinery was installed by Ganz from Budapest, which leased and also operated the power station in Žilina. The power station had a total output of 180 kW and was powered by two steam engines with a shared power of 268 kW. Hard coal from Ostrava district was used as fuel.

In 1918, the town took over the power station. In July 1926 the entire power station including equipment and all rights and obligations was acquired by United Power Stations of Northwest Slovakia. The town, however, reserved the right to participate in setting the various electricity tariffs. At the end of 1926 production at the steam power station ceased since producing DC electricity was no longer profitable for the new owner. A chimney almost 30 metres high situated outside the power station was demolished in around 1932.

Between 1941 and 1943 the main administration building was constructed on what is now Republic Street, designed by the architect František Bednárik and chartered architect Ferdinand Čapek. This Functionalist building is still one of the most remarkable buildings in the town. It is built in the shape of the letter 'V'. The corners are built out of glass-concrete and are slightly curved. On the first floor there is a travertine that was widely used at the time. Originally, it contained commercial rooms. The building is reminiscent of the Expressionist buildings by the famous German architect Erich Mendelson. Between 1963 and 1965 an extension was added to the administration building. The whole complex has been abandoned since 2011 and the company’s offices are now situated on Pri rajčianke street. The original steam power station – between 1941 and 1943 it became a measuring and administration building – is a national heritage building registered as nos. 1178

Source: Mgr. Peter Štanský, doc. Ing. Novák Milan, PhD. Text prevzatý z webovej stránky TIK Žilina (kliknite): www.tikzilina.eu.