History

The building was erected in the 18th century. Originally, it served as a salt storage on the so-called Hungarian route and as a customs house. However, no records have been preserved to prove such functions of the facility. They are only remembered by the inhabitants of Orawka. Most likely, in the 18th century, linen began to be dyed in the village. It was sold through the so-called linen merchants. At the beginning of the 19th century, the dyeworks were purchased by Johann Harbich and later taken over by his nephew Johann Klein, probably of the village of Rothwasser in the Sudetes. Klein’s dyeworks prospered well, despite the competition of the works in nearby Jabłonka and Lipnica. Its heyday was the 1860s. The technology involved the printing of starched and calendered linen spread on stone tables with simple floral motifs, using wooden blocks dipped in powdered and diluted paint. At the end of the 19th century, due to the collapse of the linen business in the Orava region and the competition of industrial dyeing methods, Klein closed the works and left for Andrychów to work as a professional dyer. After closing, the dyeworks were idle for some time. At the turn of the 19th century, Klein’s son-in-law, Jan Cegielny, took over the building to set up a carpentry business, later run by his sons. After the death of his last son Józef in 1993, his daughters inherited the works and refurbished the facility. Today, the building is no longer used.  

Description

The dyeworks are located near the wooden Church of St John the Baptist by the road to Jabłonka. The building is set on a rectangular plan and has deep cellars. It is a one-level building with a mezzanine in the roof. It has a shingled mansard roof, concave in the lower section. The dyeworks are a brick building, plastered in white. The gable wall boasts a sundial.

Private property. The site can be viewed from the outside.

Author of the note Olga Dyba, 14/07/2014

Bibliography

• Jost H., Katalog zabytków budownictwa przemysłowego w Polsce, vol. 3, no. 3, pow. Nowy Targ i Miasto Zakopane. Wrocław i in. 1969, p. 48.
• Kantor R., Farbiarnia Jana Kleina w Orawce. “Wierchy”, vol. 45, 1976, pp. 257-260.
• Ładygin Z., 7 dni na Orawie Polskiej. Warszawa-Kraków 1985, p. 29.
• Kantor R., Farbiarnia Jana Kleina w Orawce. “Orawa” 1998 no. 36 pp. 155-161.
• Sroka M., Farbiarnia w Orawce. “Orawa” 1998 no. 36, pp. 151-154.