1901: the start of a powerful story.
Kraftwerk Bille was built between 1899 and 1901 as the fourth coal-fired power plant of Hamburgische Electricitäts-Werke in Hamburg and was connected to the grid on 15 August 1901. It was one of the few buildings in the east of Hamburg to survive the bombing raids of the Second World War and is a rare historical relic in today’s industrial district of Hammerbrook. The ensemble consists of a metering works, a transformer plant with transformer hall, the original administration building, a coal works and a boiler hall.
Construction of the power plant for HEW
1899
1901
The power plant is put into operation
Construction of the transformer station at Bullerdeich
1915
1929
The power plant is converted into a forming plant
Conversion of the transformer station to a counter(calibrating) station
1933
1951
Reconstruction after the war damage
Start of after use
1955
1968
Arts and crafts courtyard
Renovation of the turbine and machine hall
2005
2011
Bille power plant is placed under monument protection
Reopening of the power plant
2026
1929: a power plant that transforms time.
Due to the rapid development of power plant technology and Hamburg’s electricity requirements, parts of Kraftwerk Bille were converted into a frequency conversion station. In this way, coal was saved by being used only in larger plants with more efficient technology and higher output. In the course of this enterprise, the building was expanded to include the new transformer plant and the transformer hall on the west side of the property by the railway embankment – and parts of the original coal warehouse had to be demolished.
ON THE WAY TO
A VERSATILE,
CREATIVE USE.
After Kraftwerk Bille was badly damaged by the bombings of the Second World War and partially reconstructed in the 1950s, the site began to be used in different ways in the years and decades that followed: the buildings were home to photo studios, artists’ studios and small businesses.
Radiating energy
in Hamburg
for 120 years.
In 2011, Kraftwerk Bille was
declared a listed building as a
testament to Hamburg’s
industrial history.
