| 1 |

Hydraulic Engineering and

Water Power, Drinking Water

and Decorative Fountains

in Augsburg

Photo documentation

supporting the city of Augsburg’s expression of interest

The unique nature and universal value of Augsburg’s

water management system and water art are based

on the complete and comprehensive documentation

of water technology and related architecture and art

covering more than six centuries, including canals

(above, left) and the water towers and fountain masters’

houses of the waterworks at Rotes Tor (Red Gate)

(above, right). The waterworks dating from 1879 (below,

left) and the three monumental fountains can also be

included among the technological and architectural

monuments of the water management system, as well

as the early hydroelectric power stations.

| 2 |

Right: In the Lech region the canals have powered grain mills and

hammer mills since the Middle Ages (first documented in 1276). They

have also served as transport routes and have been used for waste

removal. The city’s drinking water comes from clean streams and was

supplied via parallel canal beds. The canals from the Lech, Wertach

and Singold were instrumental in the industrialization of Augsburg.

Left: At both the beginning and end of the Lech canal system there is a

technological wonder. Near the Hochablass, built in 1911, which diverts

the water from the Lech into the canal network, the waterworks at

Hochablass (above) were built in 1879. Where the Wertach and the

linked canals flow into the Lech, the hydroelectric power station at

Wolfzahnau (below) has been generating electricity since 1902.

| 3 |

Below: Until 1879 seven waterworks with a total of nine water towers

provided Augsburg with running water. Besides the three towers for

the waterworks at Rotes Tor, the Untere Brunnenturm at Mauerberg

(below, left), in use since around 1500, and the Untere St.-Jakobs-

Wasserturm constructed by Elias Holl in 1609 have also survived. The

“Fountain Lad” designed by Adriaen de Vries served as the outlet tap

for the Kastenturm.

Above: The clean Brunnenbach was diverted to the waterworks at Rotes

Tor, built from 1416 onwards. The Große Wasserturm (large water

tower) and Kleine Wasserturm (small water tower) (above, right) and

the Kastenturm (box tower) provided Augsburg with running water

until 1879. Hydro-technology models and instruction panels were used

by Augsburg’s fountain masters to train up employees: their technical

expertise is today documented in several archives and collections.

| 4 |

Below: The emperor on the column of the Augustus Fountain (below,

left) represents the Romans, who founded Augsburg in the area of land

between the Lech and the Wertach. The Mercury Fountain (center) and

the Hercules Fountain were completed by Adriaen de Vries in 1599 and

1600 respectively. This globally unique triad of fountains is used to

decorate Augsburg’s central road axis. These three Mannerist-style

fountains are European masterpieces.

Above: From 1588 onwards the Free City’s first monumental fountain

was built; it was designed by Hubert Gerhard, who had been trained

by Giambologna. It was officially brought into use in 1594. At the edge

of the fountain there are four river gods which personify the Augsburg

waterways (clockwise from top left): the Lech - navigable by ship and

flanked by forests, the Singold - powering the mills, the Brunnenbach -

provider of clean drinking water and the Wertach - abundant in fish.

| 5 |

Des

ign:

con

text

ver

lag

Aug

sbur

g, P

hoto

grap

hy: T

hom

as B

aum

gart

ner

(3),

Haj

o D

ietz

/Nür

nber

g Lu

ftbi

ld (4

), W

olfg

ang

B. K

lein

er (1

3), M

artin

Klu

ger

(8),

Max

imili

an M

useu

m A

ugsb

urg/

Brü

cklm

air

(1),

Sta

dtw

erke

Aug

sbur

g/W

alte

r (1

)The waterworks at the Hochablass (above, right) and early hydroelectric

power stations are monuments to the industrialization and engineering

skills in Augsburg. In 1879 the air-pressure chambers of the waterworks

were an innovation that received attention from all over Europe (above,

left). The hydroelectric power station at Wolfzahnau (above, right) gene-

rated electricity for a textile factory from 1902. Its flywheel generator,

standing at a height of more than five meters and dating from 1913

(second row, left) has also been preserved, as have the machine workings

from the waterworks on the Wertach canal built in 1921. In 1899 the

Lech canal (left) began to be dug in the north of Augsburg, where the

first hydroelectric power station (below, left) was brought into operation

in Gersthofen in 1901, with a second in Langweid in 1907. The turbine

chamber (below, right) has been preserved in the Historicist-style building

in Langweid as a technical monument that can be walked through.