In January this year, we wrote that PKP would not make the viaduct’s pillars available to visitors. – Safety issues must be taken into account – explained Mirosław Siemieniec, press spokesperson for the Wrocław branch of PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe at the time. – The so-called towers, with internal passageways, provide railway employees with the only official route to the upper level of the bridge and make it possible to assess the condition of the pillars. They are not intended to be made available to outsiders.
The fact that the guard bunkers from World War II, well known to residents of our city, will soon disappear may also cause controversy. – These structures were built in strategically important locations. Every more important road and railway bridge was secured against sabotage – says Andrzej Olejniczak, a historian from the Bolesławiec Museum of Ceramics. – Guards took shelter in the bunkers. The structures have firing loopholes and could therefore serve as makeshift points of resistance – he adds.
According to the historian, the Bolesławiec viaduct was an important strategic point during the war. – Some smaller bridges do not have this type of bunker – Olejniczak emphasizes. – The Germans must have feared that the viaduct would be blown up.
We have established that two of the bunkers have already been reduced to rubble. – These structures were intended for demolition – Andrzej Eidtner, the contract manager, told the IstotneInformacje.pl portal. – They are not monuments, have no value, and, moreover, obstructed the modernization of the bridge abutments.
Andrzej Olejniczak holds a different opinion. – The bunkers certainly have historical value. They are remnants of those times – says the historian. – Several structures of this type remain near the Main Railway Station in Wrocław, although it has been renovated many times.
What do our Readers think about this? We invite you to join the discussion.
(information from Gerard Augustyn)