Biały Słoń
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Biały Słoń (English: ''White Elephant''; Ukrainian: Білий слон, Bily slon) is a Polish name for an abandoned campus of the former
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory of
University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...
, located at remote area on the peak of Pip Ivan in the
Chornohora Chornohora () is the highest mountain range in Ukraine, Western Ukraine. It is within the Polonynian Beskids, a subgroup of the mountain group of Eastern Beskids of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, Eastern Beskids, which in turn is part of the Oute ...
range of the
Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. Currently the structure is used as a
mountain shelter A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineering, mountaineers, climbing, climbers and Hiking, hikers. Mountain huts are us ...
with a small search and rescue team with some rooms adapted for lodging and recovery. Along with that Bialy Slon is recognized as a historical landmark and there are restoration activities on the way since 2012 to restore its original conditions in cooperation with the Ciscarpathian National University and the
University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...
and scheduled to be finished in 2018. It is considered to be the highest built residential structure in Ukraine.Renovation of the abandoned observatory at the Carpathian peak continues
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
. 7 October 2015
The closest settlement today is a village of Zelena in
Verkhovyna Raion Verkhovyna Raion () is a raion (district) of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (Oblast, region). The Populated places in Ukraine#Rural settlements, rural settlement of Verkhovyna is the administrative center of the raion. The raion was reinstated in 1966 (in ...
(
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...
) and territorially belongs to the Zelena rural council. Currently the observatory is classified under the registration number three as a monument of cultural heritage that is not considered for privatization. The facility is located with the
Carpathian National Nature Park The Carpathian National Nature Park () is a National Park located in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine. The park was established on 3 June 1980 to protect landscapes of the Carpathian Mountains. The headquarters of the park are in Yaremche. Carpat ...
. The region was part of the
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
when the observatory was established during the interbellum period. Biały Słoń, started in 1937 and completed in the summer of 1938, was the highest-elevated, permanently inhabited, building in Poland.
It was located on the international border between the
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
and
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
that stretched across mountain peaks of the
Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...
.


Polish observatory


Preparation and construction

According to Wladyslaw Midowicz, the first and only director of the observatory, the construction of "Biały Słoń" was suggested by a group of influential Warsaw astronomers who managed to convince General
Leon Berbecki Leon Berbecki (28 July 1875, Lublin – 23 March 1963, Gliwice) was a Polish army officer, who fought in the Russo-Japanese War and World War I with the Imperial Russian Army. Following the foundation of the Second Polish Republic, Berbecki ser ...
, director of the influential
Airborne and Antigas Defence League Air and Chemical Defense League (Polish: ''Liga Obrony Powietrznej i Przeciwgazowej'', ''L.O.P.P.'') was a mass Polish paramilitary organization, founded in 1928 as a result of the merger of the ''State Air Defense League'' (Polish: ''Liga Obron ...
, to support it. General
Tadeusz Kasprzycki Tadeusz Adam Kasprzycki (16 January 1891 – 4 December 1978) was a member of the Polish Legions in First World War, major general of the Polish Armed Forces from 1929 and Minister of Military Affairs of Poland from 1935 to 1939. He commanded ...
, minister of military affairs, also backed the construction of the observatory.
/ref> The building design was approved sometime in 1935.The abandoned observatory in Carpathians will be rescued. (Закинуту обсерваторію в Карпатах будуть рятувати. ФОТО)
Istorychna Pravda (
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...
). 9 July 2012
Construction of the building began in the summer of 1936 with an official ceremony for the placing of the cornerstone. Biały Słoń was a very expensive structure with total costs exceeding one million Polish złoty, a huge burden on the state budget at the time. The design was based on the
Przemyśl Castle Przemyśl Castle or Casimir Castle ( or ) is a Renaissance castle in Przemyśl, Poland, located on the Castle Hill, which rises to a height of 270 metres above sea level and 70 meters above the city and the San River. History The location of ...
and shaped like a letter "L" with a tower. The whole complex consists of three major features that could be considered as separate structure connected together: a tower, a main building, and smaller service attachment. Biały Słoń had five stories facing the Czechoslovakian side (today
Zakarpattia Oblast Zakarpattia Oblast (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпатська область), also referred to as simply Zakarpattia (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпаття; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Kárpátalja'') or Transcar ...
), and two stories facing the Polish side (today
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...
). The whole complex was built mostly from local
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
. Due to lack of roads, the construction materials were brought by horses, or either by hand or on the backs of local
Hutsuls The Hutsuls (Hutsul/; ; ) are an East Slavic ethnic group spanning parts of western Ukraine and northern Romania (i.e. parts of Bukovina and Maramureș). In Ukraine, they have often been officially and administratively designated a subgro ...
and soldiers of the
49th Hutsul Rifle Regiment The 49th Hutsul Rifle Regiment was a unit of the Polish Army, which belonged to the Polish 11th Infantry Division, 11th Carpathian Infantry Division (Army Kraków). Stationed in the Second Polish Republic, interbellum in the garrison in Kolomyia ...
from the Vorokhta train station located some away. The walls of a lower attachment and the
semi-basement In architecture, a semi-basement, lower ground, lower level, etc. is a floor of a building that is half below ground, rather than entirely such as a true basement or cellar. Traditionally, semi-basements were designed in larger houses where staf ...
floor have a thickness of , while upper floors - . The roof of a building was covered with copper sheets. On the southern side there was a
rotunda A rotunda () is any roofed building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (an example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). ...
on which a telescope was located. The copper dome of the telescope opened automatically. Biały Słoń had 43 rooms, including a conference hall, living quarters, offices, a cafeteria, a battery station, and a boiler room in the basement (the lower structure). The upper floors were occupied by astronomers and meteorologists, most of whom worked for the State Meteorological Institute and Astronomical Observatory of the
University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...
. Their work was to carry out meteorological observations for the Polish Air Force. In the lower levels, there were lodgings for soldiers of the "Karpaty" Regiment of the
Border Defence Corps The Border Protection Corps () was a military formation of the Second Polish Republic that was created in 1924 to defend the country's eastern borders against armed Soviet incursions and local bandits. Other borders were under the jurisdiction of ...
, with headquarters in Stryj. Altogether, the number of inhabitants never exceeded 20. Among those who worked there were professor Wlodzimierz Zonn, doctor Jan Gadomski, and professor Eugeniusz Rybka.


Opening and operations

The opening ceremony of the building took place on 29 July 1938.
/ref> Its official name was the "Observatory of the State Meteorological Institute", but soon it took on the nickname "Biały Słoń", due to the color of its walls. The observatory was lavishly equipped, with a custom-made
astrograph An astrograph (or astrographic camera) is a telescope designed for the sole purpose of astrophotography. Astrographs are mostly used in wide-field astronomical surveys of the sky and for detection of objects such as asteroids, meteors, an ...
and
refracting telescope A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens (optics), lens as its objective (optics), objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptrics, dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope d ...
made by the British company
Grubb Parsons Grubb Parsons (legally 'Sir Howard Grubb, Parsons and Co. Ltd.') was a historic manufacturer of telescopes, active in the 19th and 20th centuries. They built numerous large research telescopes, including several that were (at the time of construc ...
of
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
. It had its own power plant with two diesel motor-generators and central heating fueled by oil, which was transported in iron barrels from the Polmin company in Borysław (today
Boryslav Boryslav (, ; ) is a city located on the Tysmenytsia (river), Tysmenytsia (a tributary of the Dniester), in Drohobych Raion, Lviv Oblast (Oblast, region) of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Boryslav urban hromada, one of the hroma ...
). The military authorities also installed their own equipment, including two
radiotelephone A radiotelephone (or radiophone), abbreviated RT, is a radio communication system for conducting a conversation; radiotelephony means telephony by radio. It is in contrast to ''radiotelegraphy'', which is radio transmission of telegrams (messag ...
prototypes constructed to withstand high altitude. The observatory was located in a remote, deserted area, with the nearest store and mail office away (at Żabie, today
Verkhovyna Verkhovyna (, ), known as Zhabie () until 1962, is a Populated places in Ukraine#Rural settlements, rural settlement in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, western Ukraine. Verkhovyna serves as the administrative center of Verkhovyna Raion. It also hosts the ...
), the nearest doctor away, and a rail station in
Kolomyia Kolomyia (, ), formerly known as Kolomea, is a city located on the Prut, Prut River in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in the west of Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Kolomyia Raion, hosting the administration of Kolomyia urban hromada ...
as far as away. The director of the observatory, Mykulychyn native Władysław Midowicz, wrote that the staff's main problem, however, was water, as no waterworks had been constructed and it had to be carried from a stream away. For fourteen months (July 1938-September 1939) the observatory was the highest-elevated, permanently inhabited, building in interbellum Poland. As entry was permitted only with a special military pass, local Hutsuls made up several legends about the building and its inhabitants. Wladyslaw Midowicz wrote that the Hutsuls thought that the observatory was in fact a mighty cannon, capable of attacking neighboring countries.


World War II and abandonment

On 18 September 1939, following the Soviet aggression on the eastern part of Poland (see:
Kresy Eastern Borderlands (), often simply Borderlands (, ) was a historical region of the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic. The term was coined during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic with ...
), the personnel of the observatory packed the most important equipment (including the
refractor A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope design was originally used in spyglasses and ...
) and left for the Hungarian border. At first it was taken to the Budapest
Konkoly Observatory Konkoly Observatory (; obs. code: 053) is an astronomical observatory located in Budapest, Hungary is part of the Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences () and belongs to thHUN-REN Magyar Kutatási Hálózat Konkoly Observato ...
, and then the
Vienna Observatory The Vienna Observatory () is an astronomical observatory in Vienna, Austria. It is part of the University of Vienna. The first observatory was built in 1753–1754 on the roof of one of the university buildings. A new observatory was built betwe ...
by the end of the war. Within the first years after the war, the equipment returned to Poland. The three-lens
objective Objective may refer to: * Objectivity, the quality of being confirmed independently of a mind. * Objective (optics), an element in a camera or microscope * ''The Objective'', a 2008 science fiction horror film * Objective pronoun, a personal pron ...
today is located in the
Silesian Planetarium The Silesian Planetarium also Silesian Planetarium and Astronomical Observatory ( ) is the largest and oldest planetarium in Poland. It was founded on 4 December 1955 to commemorate Nicolaus Copernicus. It is located in the Silesian Park, on ...
(
Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...
). By the end of the month, the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
had captured the building. After the region was united with the
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
, the
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU; , ; ''NAN Ukrainy'') is a self-governing state-funded organization in Ukraine that is the main center of development of Science and technology in Ukraine, science and technology by coordinatin ...
(NASU) sent an expedition. On 31 December 1939 the first academician-astronomer of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, Oleksandr Orlov, visited the observatory. He established that the most valuable equipment has been taken out of the building, including five large-diameter lenses, two lenses of smaller diameter, two
micrometer Micrometer can mean: * Micrometer (device), used for accurate measurements by means of a calibrated screw * Micrometre The micrometre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights ...
s, and two chronometers. Based on Orlov's report, the NASU Presidium declared that the Carpathian Astronomical Observatory (the newly acquired name) was to be transferred to the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, based on a resolution of the government of the Ukrainian SSR of 2 January 1940. Orlov was appointed the director of the Carpathian Observatory. Until June 1941, it was used as a meteorological station. In the summer of 1941 (see:
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
), the Observatory was seized by the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
, which in turn was turned over to the Hungarian troops, who were stationed there until winter 1941. After that, the deserted building became a ruin, even though it had not been damaged during the war. The locals reused all remaining materials; even the
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
batteries were taken away. It was reported that Germans took out the metal parts of the
astrograph An astrograph (or astrographic camera) is a telescope designed for the sole purpose of astrophotography. Astrographs are mostly used in wide-field astronomical surveys of the sky and for detection of objects such as asteroids, meteors, an ...
to Lviv. Now they are kept indoors at the
Lviv University The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...
Faculty of Physics.


Revival

Restoration of the building started only after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
, but progress was very slow. In the mid-1990s scientists of the Lviv Polytechnic, led by professor Anatoliy Dultsev, together with their colleagues from Warsaw Polytechnic, brought forward the idea of rebuilding the observatory. In October 1996 a special conference took place in Lviv and Yaremche, but no works had been started. On 24 January 2002 another scientific council took place in Yaremche to revive the rebuilding project for the observatory. In the beginning of October 2002 the head of the
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...
administration, Mykhailo Vyshyvaniuk, sent an official letter to the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, about the project. By the end of November that year, Vyshyvaniuk received an answer from the First Deputy of the presidential administration, Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy, stating that the proposition was reviewed and recognized as one for international discussion for the restoration. In that regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was given the required orders. Between 1998 and 2010 there were about a dozen summer expeditions that contributed to the reconstruction of the building. In 2012 the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (Poland), Ministry of Culture of Poland directed about $70,000 as a grant program in partnership with the Ciscarpathian University. With contributions from Warsaw and the Ciscarpathian University, the total amount of money allocated for preparation works amounted to $100,000. From July 2012 some preparation work started and continued in the fall of 2012, where all window openings were sealed with bricks and the roof was covered. http://www.report.if.ua/portal/novyny/na-gori-pip-ivan-pochaly-zamurovuvaty-observatoriyu-foto On the Pip Ivan mountain started to wall up the observatory (На горі Піп Іван почали замуровувати обсерваторію (ФОТО))]. Reporter (Ivano-Frankivsk). 17 September 2012."White Elephant" in Carpathians will be restored, and on its roof will be installed solar batteries ("Білий слон" у Карпатах відновлюють, а на даху встановлюють сонячні батареї (ФОТО))
Mukachevo.net. 25 August 2014
It was decided to enclose the building in order to get rid of moisture. The whole cost of the project is $2 million. Initially, the project was to be finished by 28 July 2015. Since at least 2015, there has been a small chapel next to the former observatory complex. In December 2017 it was reported that the White Elephant will be equipped with a lightning protection system, and the Ciscarpathian University had already ordered documentation for a projected budget.White Elephant" in Carpathians will receive a system of lightning protection ("Білий слон" у Карпатах отримає систему громовідведення)
Ukrinform. 4 December 2017
The lightning prevention system was intended to be installed by the summer of 2018.


Mountain rescue post

Since 2015, the building has been home to a mountain rescue post of the Ivano-Frankivsk branch of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. The post is unique as the most high-altitude government institution in Ukraine. The post is insulated and electrified. There is Wi-Fi and a separate space for visitors. The tourist traffic over
Chornohora Chornohora () is the highest mountain range in Ukraine, Western Ukraine. It is within the Polonynian Beskids, a subgroup of the mountain group of Eastern Beskids of the Outer Eastern Carpathians, Eastern Beskids, which in turn is part of the Oute ...
Ridge is constant and exceeds 6,000 people per month in summer, according to statistics of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in 2017. Between the summer of 2016 and summer of 2017, the mountain was visited by 4,000 groups totaling over 22,000 people, of whom 9,000 were foreigners. Some 420 groups totaling about 1,500 people found shelter at the top. The rescue post conducted seven search-and-rescue missions saving eight people, and provided various types of aid to 89 others. In 2017 a joint Polish-Ukrainian mountain rescue service and a school of mountain rescue were created. During the ongoing restoration activities in 2017, main rooms of
mountain shelter A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineering, mountaineers, climbing, climbers and Hiking, hikers. Mountain huts are us ...
were not available, but some provisional space was created without heating.White Elephant will help tourists with shelter (Білий слон допоможе туристам з укриттям)
Ukrinform. 30 October 2017


Gallery

File:Zenon 1964 vhid.jpg, Skiers (1964) File:Pip Ivan Observatoria IMG 3292 26-208-0005.JPG, Conditions of the actual observatory room in 2006 File:Обсерваторія у вечірніх променях - panoramio.jpg, In the evening (2008) File:Обсерваторія на Попі Івані.jpg, Conditions of the top level (2012) File:Руїни астрономічно-метеорологічної обсерваторії.JPG, Back side (2012) File:Білий слон.jpg, Mountaineers in winter (2012) File:ПІЧ9.JPG, People on the top of the building (2014) File:ПІЧ1.JPG, Visitors (summer, 2014) File:Покинута обсерваторія.JPG, White Elephant in snow (2016)


References

{{reflist


External links


Grand opening of the first stage of restoration of the Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory on Pip Ivan mountain – consecration of a mountain rescue post (УРОЧИСТЕ ВІДКРИТТЯ ПЕРШОЇ ЧЕРГИ ВІДНОВЛЕННЯ АСТРОНОМІЧНО-МЕТЕОРОЛОГІЧНОЇ ОБСЕРВАТОРІЇ НА ГОРІ ПІП ІВАН – посвята рятувального поста гірських рятувальників)
State Service of Ukraine on Emergency Situations. 18 September 2017.
Restoration of the Astronomic Observatory (Відновлення астрономічної обсерваторії)
Ciscarpathian Pedagogic University. 25 December 2014
Pip Ivan (aerial view by quadcopter)
YouTube. 2015
"White Elephant" of the Carpathians - short video dedicated to the Observatory, Polish Institute in Kyiv, 2018
Buildings and structures completed in 1938 1938 establishments in Poland Stanisławów Voivodeship Science and technology in Poland Defunct astronomical observatories Buildings and structures in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast University of Warsaw Mountain huts Meteorological stations Verkhovyna Raion State Emergency Service of Ukraine