, image = File:Gazownia zmierzch.JPG , image_size = 300px , image_alt = View from Jagiellońska street , image_caption = View from Jagiellońska street , coordinates = , building_type = Former

Coal gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

factory , architectural_style =

Historicism Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

, classification = , location = 42 Jagiellońska Street,

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, client = Polska Spółka Gazownictwa , groundbreaking_date = , completion_date = 1859 , renovation_date = , material = , size = , floor_count = 3 , architect = Carl Meyer , website = http://www.psgaz.pl/ The Gasworks building in Bydgoszcz,

, is a historical edifice built between 1859 and 1860. It has also been known as the Bydgoszcz District Gas Plant and as Pomeranian Gas Company, Branch Gas Plant of Bydgoszcz. In 2003, it became part of the Polska Spółka Gazownictwa (''Pomeranian Gas Company''), as a branch called ''Gas Plant in Bydgoszcz''.

Location

The edifice is the administrative seat of Bydgoszcz gasworks offices, settled at 42 Jagiellońska street. The company still occupies the historical technical and administrative buildings on the current plot.

History

Prussian period

The Gasworks company of Bydgoszcz is one of the oldest in Poland. The building was built in 1859, on a selected area of the

Brda river The Brda (; german: Brahe) is a river in northern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula. It has a total length of 245 km and a catchment area (all within Poland) of 4,665 km2. The choice of the location was done so that it was possible to bring

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

by waterways from the Vistula River or the

Bydgoszcz Canal , original_owner = , engineer = Franz von Brenkenhoff , date_began = 1773 , date_use = 14 June 1774 , date_completed = 1775 , date_extended = 1904 , date_closed = , date_restored = , len_ft = , len_in = , ...

. The power plant was located on the former eastern outskirts of the city. The gas was produced by the combustion of coal, hence its name ''

'', or "town gas". During the first 20 years of its existence, during which the city became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, the gasworks produced exclusively for street lighting: in 1860, 285 gas lighting appeared in Bydgoszcz city, replacing

kerosene lamp A kerosene lamp (also known as a paraffin lamp in some countries) is a type of lighting device that uses kerosene as a fuel. Kerosene lamps have a wick or mantle as light source, protected by a glass chimney or globe; lamps may be used on a t ...

s, and illuminating most important places (offices, hotels). In 1910, 1488 lamp posts were using "town gas", with an automatic switch-on system running since 1900. From 1880 on, coal gas has been provided also to households and industry, and in 1909, 10,065 units were already installed. The gasplant initially covered an area of 0.8 ha. It soon grew up to 7.4 ha after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Production of gas used

from Upper Silesia and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and to ease transportation, a railway was built in 1890, along today's Oginskiego street, and joining the main network in the vicinity of Artyleryska street. During the year 1909, 1219 wagons loaded with 17500t of coal entered the gasplant through the railway. In 1881, the first renovation of the gasworks was carried out, as would happen regularly in following years. In 1905, with the construction of five furnaces has been built an administrative building, designed by architect Carl Meyer. In 1908, he created a device for the production of

synthetic gas Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, in various ratios. The gas often contains some carbon dioxide and methane. It is principly used for producing ammonia or methanol. Syngas is combustible and can be used as ...

. During the 1920s, without any new investment, the economic crisis pushed the gasworks activity to slow down. Gaz Jagiellonska 48 adv 1936

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

The company was taken over by the Polish authorities on January 21, 1920, while gas production reached then 3.7 million m³ Serious development of the gas factory began in 1925, when, with a Polish team managed by engineer Bronislaw Klimczak, the gasworks experienced a deep renovation, with the installation of several equipments: * a new chamber geared with

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

system, * a new device for receiving and processing

BTEX In the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries, the initialism BTX refers to mixtures of benzene, toluene, and the three xylene isomers, all of which are aromatic hydrocarbons. The xylene isomers are distinguished by the designations ''or ...

* a machine for converting

ammonium hydroxide Ammonia solution, also known as ammonia water, ammonium hydroxide, ammoniacal liquor, ammonia liquor, aqua ammonia, aqueous ammonia, or (inaccurately) ammonia, is a solution of ammonia in water. It can be denoted by the symbols NH3(aq). Although ...

, producing of ammonium sulfate, distillating

coal tar Coal tar is a thick dark liquid which is a by-product of the production of coke and coal gas from coal. It is a type of creosote. It has both medical and industrial uses. Medicinally it is a topical medication applied to skin to treat psoriasi ...

, delivering

Carbolineum Carbolineum is an oily, water-insoluble, flammable, dark brown mixture from coal tar components, smelling of tar. It contains among other things anthracene and phenol. Because of its rot-resisting and disinfecting effect, Carbolineum was used ove ...

. Business began to improve in 1936-1939, with the construction of a new gas

pipeline Pipeline may refer to: Electronics, computers and computing * Pipeline (computing), a chain of data-processing stages or a CPU optimization found on ** Instruction pipelining, a technique for implementing instruction-level parallelism within a s ...

. During

interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

, the gasworks had a shop at Ferdinand Foch street 5, and a showroom in the administrative building, where were held, inter alia, lectures and cooking demonstrations related to gas. Just before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

company employed 150 people. Gas production grew up to 6.3 million m³ in 1938.

gasworks was the largest in the

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

, and the 6th biggest plant of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

World War II period

Gazownia bydgoska - Mechaniczny transporter węgla

In September 1939, the gasworks was taken over by nazi authorities and incorporated into the new Urban Department ( ger, Stadtwerke Bromberg), together with tram system, water supply, power plant and brickyards. In 1943, German engineers launched a third furnace and rebuilt two vertically-chamber system furnaces, "Didier", with a total capacity of 22000 m³ of gas per day. During the retreat, most of the facility and gas equipment have been destroyed.

Communist period

Immediately after the liberation, starting from January 1945, repair of the gasworks was launched, and gas production to the city resumed in February. With city population growth and industrial development, the demand for gas increased. At the same time

began to move away from gas street lighting: the last town gas lamps have been removed at the beginning of the 1970s. In 1951, the complex evolved into "Bydgoszcz District Gas Plant". The plant gradually widened and modernized, in particular in 1946-1948 under the supervision of architect

Jan Kossowski Jan Kossowski (1898-1958) was a Polish architect and builder, mainly associated with Bydgoszcz. His professional activity spanned from the interwar period to the 1940s. His artistic style is mainly connected with Modern Architecture. Life Jan K ...

In the years 1950s, authorities recognized that the capacity of expansion of the gas complex along Jagiellońska street were pretty limited, with regards to the urban development. As such, in 1955 it has been decided to build a new gasplant in the eastern industrial district. Work started at Witebska street from 1962 to 1967, creating a first production capacity of about 100 000 m³: the new gas plant has been launched on September 30, 1967, and in 1973 the complex at Jagiellońska has been put out of service. The buildings, including the chimney, were demolished. At the end of the 1960s, a new gas distribution network has been built to connect the new plant to the different districts of the city. One of the first major pipelines ran from Sporna street to Wladyslaw Bełzy street along Toruńska street, with a length of about 4 km. From 1973 on,

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

has been mainly used, pushing to expand the gas distribution network to newly built settlements in Bydgoszcz. Since September 24, 1990, only natural gas is supplied to customers, using pipelines from Grudziadz and

Gniewkowo Gniewkowo (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Argenau) is a town in Inowrocław County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland with a population of 7,301 (2005). It is located within the historic region of Kuyavia. Location Gniewkowo is located ...

. Between 1987 and 1992 a complete replacement of the gas network in specific areas of the city has been carried out. Bydgoszcz gas company employs today 452 workers.

Current period

Since January 2000, Gasworks of Bydgoszcz functions as a branch of Polish Oil and Gas Company. In 2003, the plant became a branch of "Pomeranian Gas Company Sp. zoo", covering Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and Chojnice, Czersk, Człuchów from

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province (Polish: ''Województwo pomorskie'' ; ( Kashubian: ''Pòmòrsczé wòjewództwò'' ), is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The ...

. Its business then included the distribution of natural gas, the network operation, maintenance and repair, together with quality controls checks of gas network. From June 2007 to October 2008, Bydgoszcz plant operated under the name "Pomorski Branch Operator System of Gas Distribution in Bydgoszcz" ( pl, Pomorski Operator Systemu Dystrybucyjnego Oddział Dystrybucji Gazu w Bydgoszczy), as a Distribution network operator. At the end of 2008, its name changed to ''"Pomeranian Gas Company, Branch Gas Plant of Bydgoszcz"'' ( pl, Pomorska Spółka Gazownictwa Oddział Zakład Gazowniczy w Bydgoszczy).

Architecture

The edifice on Jagiellońska street displays historicism features, leaning on Neo-classical style. The vast elevation is built on a balanced facade, symmetric distribution of windows, enhanced by the two gates on each side of the middle

avant-corps An ''avant-corps'' ( it, avancorpo or , plural , german: Risalit, pl, ryzalit), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the ''corps de logis'', often taller than othe ...

Bossage Bossage is uncut stone that is laid in place in a building, projecting outward from the building, to later be carved into decorative moldings, capitals, arms, etc. Bossages are also rustic work, consisting of stones which seem to advance beyond ...

in corner places and a triangular

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

above the avant-corps add to the impressive effect of the frontage.

Gallery

File:Gas work bydgoszcz 1914.jpg, Gasworks on 1914

Bromberg Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

map, with railway network File:Gazownia bydgoska - kolejka wisząca.jpg, View of Jagiellońska street complex beginning of 20th century File:Old gas plant.jpg, View of the gas complex from the other side of the

Brda river The Brda (; german: Brahe) is a river in northern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula. It has a total length of 245 km and a catchment area (all within Poland) of 4,665 km2.Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

* Jagiellońska street in Bydgoszcz *

Brda river The Brda (; german: Brahe) is a river in northern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula. It has a total length of 245 km and a catchment area (all within Poland) of 4,665 km2.Gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{Bydgoszcz notable buildings Defunct energy companies of Poland Oil and gas companies of Poland Former factories in Bydgoszcz