The oldest professional hydroelectric power station in Poland can be found in Lesna. The waters of the River Kwisa, stacked up by a dam located at the mouth of a narrow valley, are used to create the energy. The dam was built to protect the Kwisa valley against recurrent floods as well as producing electricity. It was designed by an engineer from Jelenia Gora, Curt Bachmann, who also later drew up the plans for the Pilichowice and Zlotniki dams.

Construction work began in 1901 and lasted four years. The dam is 45m high (36m above ground level). The length at its crest is 130m and a width of 8m. The resulting Lesna Reservoir has an area of about 140 hectares. In the years between 1905 and 1907 a hydroelectric power station was built at the base of the dam. Its buildings are 100m below the crest of the dam. Initially four Francis turbines were installed but a further two were added. These devices are original and still operating.

At its full output they can produce 2.7 megawatts of electricity. Years ago when Lesna still had industrial plants the energy produced was sufficient for the needs of the town and surrounding areas. Visiting the site is only by consent of Tauron Eco-Energy Ltd

Hydroelectric Power Stations on the River Kwisa – Lesna (woj. Dolnoslaskie)

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