PHOTO GALLERY: KRAFTWERK CHARLOTTENBURG

Built on the banks of the Spree at the turn of the 20th century (when Charlottenburg was still independent from Berlin), the Kraftwerk Charlottenburg sought to meet the robust electrical needs of the wealthy, growing city. Large pipes were built into the structure of an elaborately-ornamented stone-and-iron footbridge (the Siemenssteg), which transported most of the power generated by the plant to the more populous area across the Spree. Over the following century, its output expanded to include hot water and natural gas. The structure emerged relatively unscathed from the Second World War, and both the footbridge and the ornate brick Maschinenhalle are still standing today.

The original Maschinenhalle – built in 1901, still standing in 2016

The plant was most recently operated by Vattenfall, with the neighboring buildings being converted into the WerkBundStadt Berlin – a modern manifestation of the ideas of the Deutscher Werkbund.