Bolesławiec has been renowned for its ceramic products for centuries. For hundreds of years, the technique of producing ceramic vessels was created and perfected in the town and its surrounding area. An important event in the development of Bolesławiec’s craftsmanship was the opening of the Vocational School of Ceramics in 1897.
The school had a highly qualified teaching staff who not only passed on knowledge but also developed new technologies.
In 1911, a museum was opened to the public on what is now Mickiewicza Street. It housed numerous archaeological collections, artistic handicrafts and a collection of local ceramic products. In the newly opened building, specifically in the lower part of the tower, there was a fifteenth-century Pietà and an altar from the second half of the eighteenth century.
The so-called Great Pot of Johann Gottlieb Joppe, dating from 1753, was of great interest to residents and tourists visiting Bolesławiec. It was considered one of the largest pots in the world. It had impressive dimensions: a height of 2.15 metres, a circumference of 4 metres at the midpoint, a capacity of approximately 1,970 litres and a weight of 600 kg.
The master’s work was not fired in a traditional kiln; because of its size, it underwent a process of slow drying. J.G. Joppe created this great work at the age of just 30. It represented the pinnacle of the craftsmanship of that time. Unfortunately, as a result of the turmoil of war, it was lost forever along with all the exhibits housed in the museum.
Today, thanks to the dedicated team of specialists’ persevering work over the years, the Museum of Ceramics has amassed impressive collections that constitute our local cultural heritage and promote our town internationally.
Sebastian Zielonka – historian and graduate of the University of Wrocław. Specialisations: archival studies and conservation documentation. He is interested in the history of the region and the social lives of Europeans in the twentieth century. In his free time, he travels.
Photos and sources: Wratislaviae Amici; viafabrilis.Eu: Bunte Bilder aus dem Schlesierlande, Breslau, 1903; ak-ansichtskarten.de; Unvergessene Heimat Schlesien Augsburg 1996; own materials.