It is the only fully preserved gasworks complex in the province and in the region. Almost all of the equipment (furnaces, suction pump, tar remover, scrubbers, desulfation chests), buildings and gas tanks have survived. In addition, a large selection of gas meters and gas lamps have been collected at the gasworks.

History

The gasworks complex built in 1902 by the company owned by Carl Francke from Bremen consisted of a complex of adjoined technological buildings of the gasworks, the living quarters of the gasworks manager and a gas tank. The facility was equipped with 2 furnaces - one with two retorts, and the other one with three - an ammonia scrubber, 3 purifiers and a meter of daily performance. In 1909, a workshop building with a tool-room was erected and a furnace with 4 retorts from C. Kulmiz was installed. In 1911, another tank for associated gas was built, capable of holding 600 m3, supplied by Leopold und Hurttig. In 1920, retort furnaces were rebuilt, and in 1928-1929, a suction pump, tar remover and gas engine were installed. In 1932 and 1937, new retorts and Brockerkammer chambers were installed in the furnaces. In 1984, the production of gas was ceased.

Description

The complex is situated on a plot at Łukomskiego and Ogrodowa Streets, in the eastern part of the town, in the area of the so-called paint pond, approx. 10 m below the level of the surrounding town. It constitutes a compact complex which comprises: a gasworks with the living quarters and office of the gasworks manager, located latitudinally in the centre of the plot, a workshop building to the north of the gasworks, bordering with a former abattoir, and two gas tanks situated in the eastern part of the plot. The gasworks consists of four individual buildings which are connected to each other on the plan of a polygon. The central part is dominated by a two-storey single-space furnace hall which houses a retort furnace and is covered with a gable roof. From the east and from the west, the hall is flanked with smaller buildings where the office of the gasworks manager (east) and the staff room (west) are located. They feature gable roofs covered with sheet metal (living quarters) and roofing felt (staff room). From the south, the hall is adjoined by a one-storey coal storehouse covered with a mono-pitched roof. On the front wall, a plaque was embedded in 2002 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the creation of the gasworks. The gasworks buildings are made of red brick. The façades are partitioned with lesenes and decorated with a frieze, a decorative frieze is also present beneath the roof eaves. The window and door openings are topped with segmental arches. The workshop building with a tool-room, situated in the northern part of the complex, was built on a rectangular floor plan and has brick façades, enlivened by window and door openings.

The gasworks is currently owned by the State Treasury, with Wielkopolska Spółka Gazownictwa holding the right to use the premises.

compiled by Beata Marzęta, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznan, 26-06-2014.

Bibliography

• Gomolec L., Dzieje miasta Śmigla, 1960, s. 43
• Urbaniak M., Miejskie zakłady przemysłowe Wielkiego Księstwa Poznańskiego. Gazownie, t. 2: Katalog, 2011, s. 421-429
• Palacz T., Wielkopolskie gazownie, „Ochrona Zabytków” 2006, nr 3, s.97-110