The complex was founded by Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Reden, a minister in the Prussian government; new technologies were introduced by John Baildon, a foundry worker and a visionary, regarded as the father of the modern steel industry, and Johann Friedrich Wedding, a creator of the largest steelworks. The layout of the complex has partially been altered, however, numerous buildings from the 1st half of the 19th century, when the complex was enlarged, have survived to this day, and small castings for industrial purposes are still produced here today.

History

The steelworks in Gliwice was founded by Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Reden. The construction works were commenced in 1791. Owing to cooperation with John Baildon and Johann Wedding, it was the first plant in Europe in which a coke-fired furnace was used. The rapid development of the plant resulted from a great number of orders related to the arms industry. The year 1815 and the resolutions of the Congress of Vienna contributed to a change in the production profile of the steelworks, which started making steam boilers, art castings, and steam engines, although it only stopped production for military purposes in 1871, when the production of ammunition was discontinued. Five years later, a system of water ditches was completed. Intense development of the complex took place during the 19th century. In the same century, its specific layout resulting from the system of canals connected directly with the Kłodnicki Canal, on which the plant relied for the transport of products. Another noticeable feature of the complex was a pond. The steelworks, located in the highly industrialised region of Upper Silesia, were kept supplied with raw materials by mines in Tarnowskie Góry, the Królewska (“Royal”) Mine in Zabrze, and nearby quarries. As the production of pig iron became less profitable in the 20th century, in 1908, the plant changed its production profile: all furnaces were removed and the steelworks were transformed into a foundry. In the 19th century, a steelworks cemetery (in which John Baildon is buried, among others) was established nearby the plant.

Description

The building complex of Huta Gliwice (“the Gliwice Steelworks”), currently the company Gliwickie Zakłady Urządzeń Technicznych, is located at 2 Robotnicza Street, in the south-eastern part of Gliwice, on the north bank of the Kłodnica River, to the north of Park im. Bolesława Chrobrego (Park of Bolesław I the Brave).

The oldest buildings are situated in the central part of the complex; new structures were built around the original core. A number of buildings from the 1st half of the 19th century, when the complex was intensely extended, have survived to this day; dominant among them are forms reminiscent of the classical style. The spatial layout of the complex and the traces of the former canals have remained fairly clear. The building complex of the former Gliwice Steelworks currently consists of 27 historic buildings, including:

1. Former office building — a compact three-storeyed structure made of brick and covered with plaster, having the shape of an elongated rectangle and topped with a gable roof. The front and back façades have six axes; the window openings on the ground and first floors have semi-circular arches, the openings on the second floor are rectangular. The structure was completed in 1855.

2. Warehouse building — a compact one-storeyed structure made of brick and covered with plaster, having the shape of an elongated rectangle and topped with a gable roof. The façades feature semicircular-arched window openings. The structure was built in 1850.

3. Museum — a compact one-storeyed structure made of brick and covered with plaster, having the shape of an elongated rectangle and topped with a gable roof. Its distinctive feature is the two-storeyed square tower in the south-west corner. The object was completed in 1900.

4. Warehouse for finished products — a compact, one-storeyed, rectangular building topped with a gable roof. It is made of brick and covered with plaster. Its distinctive feature is the oculus over the main entrance in the front façade. The structure was completed in 1850.

5. Warehouse building — a compact, one-storeyed, rectangular building made of brick and covered with plaster; it used to house a cinema. The structure was built in the mid-19th century and underwent major alterations in the 1870s.

6. Laboratory building — consisting of a two-storeyed eastern part, rectangular in shape, and a western part perpendicular to the eastern part, characterised by a cut-off south-west corner. The walls are made of brick and covered with plaster. Both parts are topped with gable roofs. The structure was built in the mid-19th century.

7. Renovation-mechanical workshop building — a non-uniform complex, altered and extended many times; its oldest part is a forge from 1850.

8. Roofed court building — a compact, one-storeyed building having the shape of a trapezium. It is made of brick and covered with plaster. The structure was built in the years 1933-1939 and was originally used as a warehouse.

9. Sales office building — a compact, two-and-a-half-storeyed building, rectangular in shape and topped with a half-hip roof. It is made of brick and covered with plaster. The structure, designed by Johann Wedding, was built at the beginning of the 19th century. The divisions between particular storeys are accentuated by means of a string course. The cellars feature the original barrel vaults with lunettes.

10. Medical centre building — a compact, two-storeyed building, roughly square in shape and topped with a gable roof. Made of brick and covered with plaster, it has simple decorations in the form of cornices over windows. The structure was built at the end of the 18th century and is one of the oldest preserved buildings at this site.

11. Bookkeeping building — a compact, two-storeyed, square building, topped with a gable roof. It is made of brick and covered with plaster. The structure was built in 1786, which makes it one of the oldest preserved buildings of this complex. It has simple decorations in the form of characteristic window sills. Inside, there is an original cast iron balustrade from the late 19th century. The ceramic flooring in the hall is also original.

12. Motor winding building — a one-storeyed, rectangular building topped with a gable roof. It is made of brick and covered with plaster. The structure was built in the interwar period.

13. Office building — a compact, two-storeyed, brick building, roughly square in shape and topped with a gable roof. It was built in the 1930s. Its distinctive features include the triaxial avant-corps on the west façade and a door opening with a segmental arch, framed by a portal made of artificial stone.

14. Assembly hall building — a compact structure made of brick, having the shape of an elongated rectangle, topped with a gable roof. It was completed in 1910. In the late 1920s, a one-storeyed, square boiler house, having a steel construction with brick infill, was added to it.

15. Light metal working hall building — a compact one-storeyed structure made of brick and covered with plaster, having the shape of an elongated rectangle and topped with a gable roof. Built in the early 19th century, the structure underwent major alterations a number of times. It has rich decorations in the form of a portal resembling a Baroque triumphal arch, arched window openings, and piers accentuating the corners.

16. Warehouse for semi-finished products — a compact one-storeyed structure made of brick and covered with plaster, having the shape of an elongated rectangle and topped with a mono-pitched roof with a skylight. The building, constructed in 1933, was extended after the war.

17. Moulding sand processing building — a small, irregularly shaped building with a mono-pitched roof. Constructed in the 1930s, the structure underwent major alterations in the 1980s.

18. Moulding plant hall — a compact one-storeyed structure made of brick and covered with plaster, having the shape of an elongated rectangle and topped with a gable roof. The building, constructed in 1914, underwent major alterations in the post-war period.

19. Iron-foundry hall — a compact one-storeyed structure made of brick and covered with plaster, having the shape of an elongated rectangle and topped with a gable roof. The structure was built in the late 19th century and underwent major alterations after the war.

20. Core shop building — a compact, one-storeyed building having a queen-post structure with brick infill. It has the shape of an elongated rectangle and is covered with a mono-pitched roof. The building was completed in 1900.

21. Transformer substation building — a compact, one-storeyed, rectangular building topped with a hip roof. Its walls, made of brick, are covered with plaster and sheet metal. The building was completed in 1890.

22. Transformer building — a compact, one-storeyed, rectangular building with a flat roof, made of brick and covered with plaster. The façade facing the road is also covered with corrugated sheet. The building was completed in 1890. Its structure was partially modified during the war.

23. Forge — a compact, one-storeyed, rectangular building topped with a gable roof. It is made of brick and partially covered with plaster. The building, probably completed in 1855, underwent major alterations in the 1920s.

24. Bathhouse — a compact three-storeyed structure made of brick and covered with plaster, having the shape of an elongated rectangle and topped with a gable roof. The building was completed in 1890.

25. Non-ferrous metal foundry building — a building made of brick and covered with plaster, roughly rectangular in shape, with a cut-off south-east corner, topped with a gable roof. The building was completed in 1900.

26. School workshop building — a compact structure made of brick and covered with plaster, having the shape of an elongated rectangle and topped with a gable roof. The building was constructed in the years 1939-1945.

27. Guardhouse — a compact structure made of brick, constructed in the years 1939-1945.

The steelworks are currently the premises of the company Gliwickie Zakłady Urządzeń Technicznych (GZUT) — the buildings can only be visited from the outside.

compiled by Agata Mucha, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Katowice, 29-08-2014.

Bibliography

• Wybraniec P., Zabytki architektury przemysłowej w województwie katowickim, Katowice 1989, s. 12-13.
• Zabytki sztuki w Polsce. Śląsk, red. S. Brzezicki, C. Nielsen, G. Grajewski, D. Popp, Warszawa 2009, s. 265.
• http://www.gliwiczanie.pl/Reportaz/huta/huta.htm z dn. 28.08.2014
• Zabytki techniki województwa śląskiego. Przewodnik po wybranych obiektach, red. G. Bożek, s. 31.
• Pilch J., Leksykon zabytków architektury Górnego Śląska. Warszawa 2008, s. 274.
• Karty ewidencyjne zabytków architektury i budownictwa, oprac. K. Cygorijni, J. Pałka, Gliwice 1976, Archiwum WUOZ w Katowicach: Budynek biurowy, Magazyn, Magazyn ,,Almatura’’, Kryte korty tenisowe, Budynek ogólnego przeznaczenia, Laboratorium, Hala Produkcyjna, Budynek biurowy, Budynek administracyjny, Budynek administracyjny, Hala produkcyjna, Hala produkcyjna, Kuźnia, Łaźnia oraz Hala produkcyjna.