It presents historical values and is an important element of the industrial landscape of Gniezno. 

History of the structure

The water tower is one of the most important spatial elements of the railroad infrastructure of the Gniezno station. It belongs to the new traction water system, which was created to complement the existing older equipment. It supplied traction water to steam locomotives and technological water to railroad station buildings. The decision on the investment was made in connection with the growing railroad traffic, increasing number of steam locomotives and greater demand for water. The construction of the tower began in 1905 according to the project implemented by the Directorate of Railways in Bydgoszcz. A steel water tank according to Otto Intze’s design was used. The tank with a capacity of 300 m3 was equipped with a spherical bottom. Initially, the tank was supplied with water from the steam station in Dalki, and only in 1943 water was brought to the tank from a new intake from Byczek Lake in Janikowo Dolne.  

Description of the structure

The water tower is located in the southern part of the Gniezno railroad station between the fan-shaped hall of the first railway depot and the dormitory building for railroad workers. It has retained the plan, shape, construction, and materials from the time of its construction. The 21-meter-high “mushroom” tower consists of a massive brick shaft and a cylindrical reinforced concrete head, covered by a conical roof with a lantern. The conical shaft of the tower with a height of 10 m was built on a circular plan with a diameter of 9 m in the ground floor and 7 m in the crown. The overhanging head, which is 3 meters larger than the shaft, contains a tank with a diameter of 9 meters and a height of 4.6 meters. The steel tank of the Otto Intze system was based on a steel and stone ring running around the perimeter of the shaft crown. The roof of the tower is topped with a low glass lantern, which also serves as a ventilator. The roofs were covered with tar paper. The architecture is typical for a “mushroom” type railroad tower with decorations characteristic for the industrial architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The elevation of the tower’s shaft was accented with a brick portal separated in the body of the building and details in the form of friezes on the base and a stepped cornice on the finial. In the middle of the height of the shaft and the head of the tower, small rectangular window openings were arranged regularly. The interior of the tower preserved its original layout. In the ground floor of the tower there is a furnace for heating the building and a steel staircase running around the perimeter of the walls of the tower’s shaft, leading to the second floor. Ladders lead up to two working platforms running around the tank located in the head. From the bottom of the tank there is a discharge pipeline, distributing water in the station area to the water cranes and an overflow pipeline to prevent overflow.

Visitor access. The water tower in Gniezno can be viewed from the outside. It can be visited by prior telephone arrangement with the Gniezno Association of Railway Enthusiasts.

Compiled by: Radomiła Banach, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Poznań, 21.11.2017

Bibliography

• Zabytkowa stacja kolejowa Gniezno, Miron Urbaniak, Łódź 2009
• Krajobraz z koleją Drogi żelazne Wielkopolski, Grażyna M. Balińska, Jerzy A. Baliński, Dorota Balińska, Wrocław 2011, pp. 196-7, 226.