As soon as spring arrives in Munich and the days get longer, we start looking forward to the warmer weather in the city. When it gets hot enough, it’s time for the first chance to cool off this year. The best places to do that are the most beautiful lakes in Upper Bavaria and the city’s outdoor pools. But if you’re in the mood for even more action, you should take a trip to the Mühltal Hydroelectric Power Plant. Here, Europe’s longest raft slide awaits you! From Munich, you can get there in about 35 minutes.
A power plant listed as a historic monument
The Mühltal Hydroelectric Power Plant is far more than a purely functional industrial facility: it is a living industrial monument on the Isar River that is now a listed building. Built between 1920 and 1924, the power plant is a central component of the so-called “Middle Isar.”
It isn’t located directly on the river, but rather on the Mühltal Canal. This canal is diverted from the Isar about 7.3 kilometers upstream of the power plant at the Ickinger Weir and flows back into the Isar further downstream. But this very feature creates a gradient that provides not only power for machinery but also recreational fun.
Leisure fun and art combined
Right next to the power plant is Europe’s longest raft slide. With a length of 365 meters, the giant Isar rafts here overcome a height difference of about 17 meters. The rafts are often filled with marching bands and up to 60 people and whiz down the slide at high speed. It’s a unique sight best enjoyed from the bridge or the hiking trails right along the canal bank.
But a visit to the Mühltal hydroelectric power plant itself is also well worth it. On the ceiling of the switch hall is a ceiling painting by the artist Gottlob Gottfried Klemm, depicting figures from Greek mythology . Symbolically, they represent power, water, energy generation, and distribution. It couldn’t be more fitting!
