Ottenbach Small Hydro

The Ottenbach Small Hydro is a 1920 electrified small hydroelectric power station of the former Silk Weaving Mill A. F. Haas & Co. in the Swiss village of Ottenbach. It is preserved in its original condition of 1920, still able to operate, aimed to be an historical witness of the industrial archaeology. The ensemble of factory, power plant and hydraulic structures is a cultural asset under preservation order.

From 1645 onwards, the millers of Ottenbach and Rickenbach used in addition to the ditches in the village the water of the river Reuss to grind the grain, because those did not supply enough water during the summer months. In 1833, the Canton of Zürich granted the license to use the water to operate a grain mill. In 1836 the miller Jakob Beerli built a canal with a dam in order to bring the water of the Reuss to the millwheel in a more regulated manner.

Wikipedia