Stara Prochownia ( en, The Old Gunpowder Depot) also known as the Bridge Gate ( pl, Brama Mostowa) is a historic building in
Warsaw New Town. It is located on ''ulica Boleść'', just below the New Town and the
Warsaw Barbican, on the
Vistula River 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
Jakub Fontana (born 1710 in Szczuczyn, died 13 April 1773 in Warsaw) was a Polish architect of Swiss Italian origin, a practitioner of the Baroque and Neoclassical styles. He was court architect to the Polish king. He was knighted in 1764. Jakub ...
) along the Boleść Street.
Further expansion was done between 1796 and 1806.
Following the
November Uprising
The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution,
was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
and the Russian decision to erect the
Warsaw Citadel, in 1833 the prison had been liquidated and the building was refurbished to become a private house.
After the
World War II 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. 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