Let us quote a short excerpt from an interview with Bolesławiec Deputy Mayor Jan Jasiukiewicz, published in the Legnica-based “Konkrety”.
“A great deal of controversy among some residents was caused by the renovation of the town hall and market square. Is it an expensive investment?” asked editor Marek Szpyra.
- “We spent 6 billion old zlotys on the Town Hall alone, and we still need several hundred million. Of course, we could have done it for one billion and then calmly waited until the end of our term in office. But in a few years everything would have started to crumble. So we stopped lamenting, because it is easiest to be poor and stupid. For example, we are making the roofs using the most modern technologies in the world. They have 30-year guarantees. We had previously replaced all the installations. During the renovation of the Town Hall, it turned out that the Germans were not always good stewards. The building stood without foundations, and when raising it they cut out the ties and floor beams. We had to make the roof a second time.”
Was it right—or wrong—for the city authorities to decide to carry out a thorough renovation of the Town Hall, the “heart of the city”, as the editors of Lokalna TV called it? We will leave future generations a high-class historic monument dating back to the 15th century and bearing witness to the former glory of the town on the Bóbr. It will also be given a new function—as is consistent with its centuries-old tradition—as it will become the seat of Bolesławiec City Hall /let us recall that the relocation took place during the mayoral term of Wiesław Grzegorzyca, whose credit includes the renovation of the ceremonial rooms of the Wedding Palace, a creative work by visual artist Mieczysław Żołądź/.
The historic Hall of Municipal Councillors will regain its former splendour /the site of subsequent council sessions from autumn this year/.
The fact remains that the cost of renovating the building has increased, which is connected with an unforeseen additional scope of work. During the works already under way, genuine threats to the building were discovered: dangerous cracks in the exterior and load-bearing walls, rotten and cut (!) floor beams, missing bricks, water stains, crumbling ceilings, walls that were warped and deviated from the vertical by as much as several centimetres, and countless other not defects but construction deficiencies crying out to heaven for vengeance...
The last German craftsmen botched the work in a compromising manner. This is demonstrated by the photographic /and other/ documentation collected by the company “Savex”, which is renovating the Town Hall.
What next? The work already begun must be completed, because time also costs money. The interior will change beyond recognition. Carpentry work is being carried out by the well-known local craftsman P. Nawrot, including panelling, doors, coffered ceilings in the Hall of Municipal Councillors and wooden flooring. The stone floors in the hall will enhance the whole, and representative sculptures from successive Ceramic and Sculpture Open-Air Workshops will also be displayed here, perhaps alongside exhibitions of ceramic products made by local manufacturers. The city will therefore gain not only a centrally located public institution, but also a true oasis of beauty and art.
Approximately another 1 billion old zlotys are still needed to bring this great undertaking to a satisfactory conclusion. Let us hope that the stewards of the town on the Bóbr will find the money and that the councillors will make the appropriate decisions. In our opinion—it is worth it.
In the photographs:
1.Rotten and cut floor beams. The heavy roof could have destroyed the entire building: the Town Hall would have collapsed into rubble...
2.Wooden props and supports prevented stones and bricks bonded with sandy mortar from falling out of the arched vaults.