Inside, the structure still features parts of the original fixtures and fittings in the form of a central kiln where the pipes were fired.

History

The discovery of kaolin (china clay) deposits in the area by salt excavation commissioner Rappard in 1752 led to the establishment of a tobacco pipe factory in Zborowskie one year later. In 1753, at the initiative of Anders von Garnier, the owner of the underlying deposits, a tobacco pipe manufacturing company was formed, its other shareholders including the aforementioned commissioner Rappard, a Wrocław-based merchant named Fromhold Samuel Grulich as well as Karl von Unfriedt, a Prussian war councillor. In order to expedite the manufacturing efforts, tools and equipment was imported from the Netherlands in the early 18th century, accompanied by Dutch craftsmen who were tasked with the supervision of manufacturing techniques and quality. The construction of the tobacco pipe manufacturing plant commenced in 1753, with the first pipes being fired in its kiln as early as in October of the same year. Initially, the main factory building was accompanied by auxiliary structures such as a clay mining facility and numerous kilns. According to the available source materials, the annual output of the manufacturing facility was between 600 000 and 1 800 000 units, with the factory later expanding into the manufacture of pottery and decorative figurines. The factory workforce also grew along with the rising demand, from a mere 40 employees in the early days of its operation to more than 100 in 1788. Due to the lack of available archival sources, the exact time of closure of the plant remains unknown; however, many researchers now believe that the declining demand in the second half of the 19th century led to the ultimate downfall of the company during that period.

Description

The tobacco pipe manufacturing plant building is located in the centre of the town, at 9 Fabryczna street, west of the local parish church. The entire lot where the facility is located is surrounded by a simple, wooden fence, with the front façade of the structure itself facing the nearby road.

The manufacturing plant is a single-storey wooden building with a basement, its walls made of wooden logs held together using saddle-notch corner joints. The building is deprived of any features pointing towards a specific architectural style, its compact body covered with a gable roof. Traces of plaster on surface of the walls both inside and out clearly indicate that the building originally had a plaster finish. Inside, the structure features a regular, two-bay, five-axial layout with a central brick kiln wherein the tobacco pipes would be fired; the kiln forms the only surviving original part of the fixtures and fittings of the factory, with traces of a furnace still visible in the basement.

The building can be viewed from the outside.

compiled by Agata Mucha, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Katowice, 11-09-2014.

Bibliography

• Record sheet of monuments of architecture and urban design. Wytwórnia fajek ceramicznych, prepared by Młodkowska-Przepiórowska, J. Koj, 1999
• B. Grabny, Fabryka fajek w Zborowskiem. Wstęp do badań. [in:] Rocznik Muzeum Górnośląski Park Etnograficzny w Chorzowie, 1, 2013, pp. 121-139.