The skyline of Gundremmingen, a town in Bavaria, Germany, witnessed a historic change at noon on Saturday as the two prominent cooling towers of the former nuclear power plant were successfully brought down in a controlled demolition. This plant had been a major landmark and a vital economic driver for the town for nearly six decades, creating numerous jobs and significantly boosting the local economy. Its decommissioning in December 2021, along with the Brokdorf and Grohnde plants, was part of Germany’s broader nuclear phaseout under its aggressive energy transition policy. Despite the emotional difficulty of the closure, thousands gathered to watch the dramatic event unfold.
The crowd of onlookers was substantial, prompting the local municipality to establish a restricted zone around the power plant site as a safety measure. Energy company RWE noted that the demolition was visible from various designated viewing points across the region, with several local pubs even hosting public “demolition viewing parties.” The controlled collapse involved three distinct explosions: a preliminary blast was used to clear the area of local wildlife, followed by separate, precisely timed explosions for each of the two towers.
In a matter of seconds, an estimated 56,000 tonnes of concrete collapsed. This major step marks the continuing dismantlement process of the entire nuclear facility. Local media reports indicate that while the most visible part of the removal is now complete, the complete dismantling of the power plant is a long-term project expected to be fully finished by the year 2040.
Bavarian Skyline Transformed: Iconic Nuclear Cooling Towers Demolished
