Silahtaraga Power Station
Encyclopedia
Coal-fired power station
A coal-fired power station produces electricity, usually for public consumption, by burning coal to boil water, producing steam which drives a steam turbine which turns an electrical generator...
generating station located in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
's first power plant, it was in use from 1914 to 1983. The site has since been converted into a university campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
for the Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Bilgi University is a private, non-profit university in Istanbul, Turkey. It was actually established in 1994 under the name ISIS , but its name was changed to Istanbul Bilgi University with the foundation of the school on June 7, 1996...
and houses two museums and several facilities. It was refurbished and renamed SantralIstanbul
SantralIstanbul
The SantralIstanbul , opened in 2007, is an arts and cultural complex located at the upper end of Golden Horn in the Eyüp district of Istanbul, Turkey...
in 2007.
History
The power plant was designed as the first in the Ottoman Empire apart from a small hydroelectric power station built in 1902 outside TarsusTarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. The Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
based Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
-Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Gas and Electric Company, Ganz, was contracted to build the power station. In 1910 the firm had established the Ottoman Electric Company in cooperation with two Belgian banks: the Banque de Bruxelles and the Banque Generale de Credit Hangrois. The company obtained an imperial concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
lasting 50 years, and built its first station a coal-fired plant in the Silahtarağa neighbourhood, Eyüp
Eyüp
-External links:* * * * *...
at the upper end of Golden Horn
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn is a historic inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming the natural harbor that has sheltered Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other ships for thousands of...
.
The power plant started service on the February 11, 1914 it supplied power initially to the tram network and shortly after to the sultan's palace
Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace located in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European coastline of the Bosphorus strait, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1922, apart from a 22-year interval in which Yıldız Palace was used.- History :Dolmabahçe Palace...
. Before long electrical power was prevalent in the cities more prosperous districts as well.
The foreign-owned company was nationalized in 1937 and turned over on July 1, 1938 to the Municipality of Istanbul. from then on it was managed by the 'Electricity, Tunnel and Tram Company of Istanbul' (IETT). Silahtarağa power station was the sole electricity producer in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
until the 1950s. In 1952, the station was linked to the newly created Turkish national grid. From 1962 it was operated by Etibank and in 1970 control was passed to the Turkish Electric Institution (TEK).
The Silahtarağa power station initially had 3 of 6 MW generators. This capacity was later increased to 80 MW.
On the March 13, 1983, Silahtarağa power station was shut down because it was no longer economic to operate. The plant was left largely derelict for the next 20 years .
In 1991, the plant was listed as a 'cultural and natural object of Istanbul' giving it special protection.
Redevelopment project
In 2002, a redevelopment plan was drawn up by Oğuz Özerden, a young businessman and the founder of Istanbul Bilgi UniversityIstanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Bilgi University is a private, non-profit university in Istanbul, Turkey. It was actually established in 1994 under the name ISIS , but its name was changed to Istanbul Bilgi University with the foundation of the school on June 7, 1996...
. The project aimed to convert the former plant into a university campus. Under this plan the former station buildings would be used to house two new museums. One a gallery dedicated to modern art, the other an energy museum.
It was this blueprint which received official backing. An alternative project was submitted by the Istanbul branch of the Chamber of Electrical Engineers in cooperation with the Istanbul Technical University
Istanbul Technical University
Istanbul Technical University is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third oldest technical university dedicated to engineering sciences as well as social sciences recently, and is one of the most prominent educational institutions in Turkey...
, Bilgi University's project was approved by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, and was realized in three years with the financial support of some leading Turkish companies.
The complex was renamed SantralIstanbul after the Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
word "Santral" meaning power station. The complex was officially opened on September 8, 2007. Alongside the art gallery and energy museum, the university has created: a public library, amphitheatre several smaller facilities for art, cultural events and educational institutions.
The Energy Museum at Santralİstanbul
The remaining generating equipment is preserved as part of the display at Santralİstanbul energy museum. It was integrated into the design by architect Han Tümertekin. Situated in the turbine hall with three generator groups, the museum is a collection of the steam turbineSteam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s, the electrical generator
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
s and the equipment of the former Silahtarağa power plant, on display in almost original conditions.
Tours are self-guided. Here, modern glass escalator
Escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.Escalators are used around the...
s replaced the former coal conveyors between the floors. In order to have a good overview of the machinery in the huge hall, a podium
Podium
A podium is a platform that is used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek πόδι In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many...
is hanged at 12 m height, which leads the visitors to the control room. After the control room, the tour route returns to the entrance by way of the turbine hall floor.
The podium has a rough wooden floor and glass sides framed in steel. The control room is preserved nearly in its original form, and was only cleaned.
The lower level of the technical museum has also moving exhibits, where the visitors are encouraged to push buttons and work levers for interactive learning.
Original relay and control instrumentation and wiring is visible. There are many examples from dozens of former and existing manufacturers. Most impressive is the large scale of equipment which was once necessary to generate only a few dozen Megawatts.
Admission and transport
The museum is open to public from 10.00 to 22.00 hours everyday except Mondays. Admission is free of charge.Parking and pedestrian access is from the south, immediately after the Kağıthane bridge. Pedestrian access is also possible from the north, adjacent to Fil Köprusü (Alibey elephant bridge), which permits foot and bike access from Eyüp and the west side of the Haliç.
A shuttle bus service free of charge is provided for the visitors departing from Atatürk Cultural Center
Atatürk Cultural Center
Atatürk Cultural Center , called also simply as AKM, is a multi-purpose cultural center located in Taksim Square of Istanbul, Turkey...
in Taksim
Taksim
Taksim was the objective of Turkish Cypriots who supported a partition of the island of Cyprus into Turkish and Greek portions, a concept declared as early as 1957 by Dr. Fazil Küçük...
every half an hour. İETT does operate several bus lines in the immediate vicinity.
Address:
Eski Silahtarağa Elektrik Santrali (Former Silahtarağa Power Station)
Silahtar Mah. Kazım Karabekir Cad. 1
Eyüp, Istanbul