Group Excursion to AKW Zwentendorf

On Friday the 24th October 2025, the KriegeGroup set out to explore the Nuclear Reactor Facilities in Zwentendorf (Lower Austria).

The Zwentendorf Nuclear Power Plant was a fully built 700 MW boiling-water reactor near Vienna, completed in 1978 but never put into operation. On November 5, 1978, a referendum resulted in a narrow majority (50.47%) voting against its start-up, leading to the plant’s shutdown before it ever produced a single kilowatt-hour. Afterwards, Austria passed legislation banning nuclear power plants for electricity generation. Today, the site serves as a training center, event location, and technical curiosity, symbolizing Austria’s anti-nuclear stance.

Zwentendorf is the only nuclear power plant in the world that allows direct access to the nuclear core. Here you can see the moderator rods below the reactor.

After our 2 hour long tour, we finalized our evening with a lovely dinner at the Berg h otel Tulbingerkogel, where we enjoyed the first Martini Gansl of the the year!