Stara Prochownia ( en, The Old Gunpowder Depot) also known as the Bridge Gate ( pl, Brama Mostowa) is a historic building in

Warsaw New Town The Warsaw New Town ( pl, Nowe Miasto) is a neighborhood dating from the 15th century in Warsaw, Poland. It lies just north of the Old Town and is connected to it by ''ulica Freta'' ( en, Freta Street), which begins at the Warsaw Barbican. Like ...

. It is located on ''ulica Boleść'', just below the New Town and the

Warsaw Barbican The Warsaw Barbican ( pl, barbakan warszawski) is a barbican (semicircular fortified outpost) in Warsaw, Poland, and one of few remaining relics of the complex network of historic fortifications that once encircled Warsaw. Located between the Old ...

, on the

Vistula River The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

escarpment.

History

The building was initially constructed in 1582 by Queen Anna I of Poland as one of the gates in the city walls of Warsaw. Unlike other gates, it was built to prevent fire from spreading from the densely built-up Old Town to the newly built wooden bridge that crossed the river. The gate gained the name ''Brama Mostowa'' (Bridge Gate). Although the bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1603, and subsequent bridges were built to the south, the name stuck. In the 17th century, when the city walls lost their strategical significance in warfare, the gate was converted into a gunpowder depot, which gave its name to the contemporary name. Expanded between 1648 and 1649 it served its new role until 1769, when it was converted into a city prison. Around that time it was also expanded (possibly by Jakub Fontana) along the Boleść Street. Further expansion was done between 1796 and 1806. Following the November Uprising and the Russian decision to erect the

Warsaw Citadel Warsaw Citadel (Polish: Cytadela Warszawska) is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster imperial Russian control of the city. ...

, in 1833 the prison had been liquidated and the building was refurbished to become a private house. After the

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 opposing ...

parts of the building were rebuilt in their 18th century form. In 1994, a plaque was unveiled on the wall of the House of Punishment and Improvement, commemorating the soldiers of the "Dzik" battalion who fought in this place in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

. Since 2002, the complex houses the educational institution of the Capital City of Warszawy – Capital Center of Cultural Education National Education Commission. The facility is called ''Starej Prochowni SCEK.'' In 2010–2012, the cellars of the building were renovated, including it in the Trail of the Cultural Cellars of the Old Town. At the same time, an amphitheater was built on the northern side of the former moat.

References

External links

*
Stara Prochownia Theatre
{{Coord, 52.251986, 21.011902, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark Buildings and structures completed in 1582 Buildings and structures completed in 1649 Buildings and structures in Warsaw Defunct prisons in Poland Theatres in Warsaw 1649 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth