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23.11.2023
We invite you to a unique lecture:
Bridge from Ervěnice to Komořany. High factory chimneys in the context of historical development.
High reinforced concrete chimneys stand somewhat aside from attention next to their older brick counterparts. They are still often perceived as gray smoking structures, often spoiling the surrounding landscape. In reality, however, they are advanced technical works worthy of attention, which are witnesses not only to the development of chimney construction but also to the transformation of our economy. Reinforced concrete chimneys reaching heights of several hundred meters have become typical for the Podkrušnohoří landscape in connection with the construction of thermal power plants (as well as other industrial operations) near sources of brown coal.
In this complex, the chimney of the Komořany power plant is a somewhat specific structure, whose form and function were determined by the context of its construction, as the chimney was built additionally to older facilities conceived differently in operation, as well as by the limited spatial conditions in the power plant area.
However, reinforced concrete was not the exclusive material for the construction of chimneys over one hundred meters high. The historical development of their construction also recorded a precursor in the form of brick chimneys. Such tall structures also primarily served the first thermal power plants. Perhaps the most famous in this regard is the trio of chimneys of the later demolished Ervěnice power plant, which stood not far from its younger Komořany counterpart.
The speakers Ing. Martin Vonka, Ph.D. and Mgr. Michal Horáček (Fabriky.cz) will introduce you to the advanced technical works of high reinforced concrete chimneys in the Most region, with a special emphasis on the chimney of the Komořany power plant, their technical and technological properties, and the context of their construction. They will outline the earlier development of these tall structures and capture the possibilities and limits of historical research on this topic, placing it in a broader framework of economic history.
The lecture will take place on November 23, 2023, at 5 PM in the OMGM lecture hall.
Photo: archive UE, text: M. Kučerová