One of a kind: a volumetric gas meter from 1899 – a witness to over a century of history

One of them is a monumental wet-type volume gas meter, manufactured in 1899 by the famous Julius Pintsch AG company from Berlin and Dessau. Today, this remarkable exhibit can be admired in the former Apparatownia (Machine Room) – a place which is itself a testament to an era of great industrial ambitions.

The gas meter contains a Crossey drum divided into four chambers filled with water. The mechanism – simple in design, yet ingenious – allowed for precise gas flow measurements with an accuracy of ±2 per cent, regardless of changes in temperature or pressure. The device was also impressive in terms of scale: it could measure a flow of up to 50,000 cubic metres of gas per day, which made it indispensable in industrial applications.

The creator of this technology was Carl Friedrich Julius Pintsch, a German entrepreneur and innovator whose company had been setting standards in the production of gas meters and lighting equipment throughout Europe since the mid-19th century. The Warsaw model served continuously for decades, even during the German occupation. After the war, attempts were made to dismantle it, but it remained in the capital and is still fully operational today.

It is not only a technical device, but also a silent witness to history – from the times of the dynamic development of the gas industry, through the dramatic years of the 20th century, to the present day. The unique gas meter from 1899 still impresses with its solidity and craftsmanship, remaining one of the few objects of its kind in Europe.

We invite you to see this extraordinary exhibit.