The stone and concrete arch dam built on the Bóbr River is the second highest dam in Poland and the second oldest in our country, and the resulting Pilchowice Lake is the largest dam reservoir in the Sudetes and the second largest in Poland. It covers an area of 240 hectares, is about 7 km long and has a varied shoreline. It is a paradise for fishermen. The reservoir can hold up to 50 million cubic meters of water, but there have been times when its area was too small. This was the case, for example, in July 1997 as a result of heavy rains.
The decision to build the reservoir was made after the flood of 1897. It was built at a point where the Bobr River pushed into very resistant granite. It was a costly investment, but there was no other way to tame this river, which floods from time to time. The area of the Bobr River basin above the dam covers a total of 1,200 km2 and includes areas in the Krkonoše and Jizera Mountains with the highest average annual rainfall in Silesia. The dam allows for the rational management of the resources of the Bóbr River, which is subject not only to flooding, but also to high average flows and long-term low flows.
The construction was complex. It began with the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone on June 20, 1908. Local rocks of very high hardness - gneiss, granite, and basalt - were used as building materials. The authors of the Odra River basin regulation plan were Prof. Otto Intze and Ing. Curt Bachmann, and the dam was built by Italian engineer Cucchiero. The dam is 62 m high, its wall at the base is 120 m long, and the crest of the wall is 290 m long. The width of the wall at the base is 50.3 m and at the crest 7.2 m. At the base of the dam is a hydroelectric power plant, which was built at the same time as the dam. At the same time as the dam was being built, it was decided to build a railway line between Jelení Hora and Lwówek Śląski. Emperor Wilhelm II arrived by train at the Pilchowice Dam station on November 16, 1912, and attended the dam's grand opening.
The decision to build the reservoir was made after the flood of 1897. It was built at a point where the Bobr River pushed into very resistant granite. It was a costly investment, but there was no other way to tame this river, which floods from time to time. The area of the Bobr River basin above the dam covers a total of 1,200 km2 and includes areas in the Krkonoše and Jizera Mountains with the highest average annual rainfall in Silesia. The dam allows for the rational management of the resources of the Bóbr River, which is subject not only to flooding, but also to high average flows and long-term low flows.
The construction was complex. It began with the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone on June 20, 1908. Local rocks of very high hardness - gneiss, granite, and basalt - were used as building materials. The authors of the Odra River basin regulation plan were Prof. Otto Intze and Ing. Curt Bachmann, and the dam was built by Italian engineer Cucchiero. The dam is 62 m high, its wall at the base is 120 m long, and the crest of the wall is 290 m long. The width of the wall at the base is 50.3 m and at the crest 7.2 m. At the base of the dam is a hydroelectric power plant, which was built at the same time as the dam. At the same time as the dam was being built, it was decided to build a railway line between Jelení Hora and Lwówek Śląski. Emperor Wilhelm II arrived by train at the Pilchowice Dam station on November 16, 1912, and attended the dam's grand opening.
