The Concordia water tower, the Piast Hotel, the Imperium nightclub and the Mieszko department store were buildings that not only defined the urban landscape but also shaped the memories of generations. Each evokes sentiment and nostalgic reflection, symbolising bygone times and unforgettable moments spent nearby. The disappearing places of Bolesławiec remind us of the fragility of memory and the value carried by local stories.
Some places are connected with a longer, serious history, while others evoke only nostalgia. No one has described in the Bolesławiec Yearbook what happened at the Brytania club (the Bolko building) or at the discos in Imperium. The chimneys of the “Bolesławiec” Ceramic Works will not receive a monograph either. There is no information about the Merkury shop on Jana Pawła II Street, the old wooden amphitheatre in Bonin Park or the Hemax company on Staroszkolna Street. However, for other buildings we can already find fairly good studies or recollections.
Demolition of the “Bolesławiec” Ceramic Works chimneys
Demolition of “Stokrotka”
Elephants in Bolesławiec: In the 1960s, a programme for organising and developing towns was carried out in Lower Silesia. Bolesławiec was among the towns covered by this Lower Silesian programme. As part of it, Bolesławiec established cooperation with Nowy Sącz, which at the time served as a model for urban organisation and aesthetics. In 1969, a delegation from Bolesławiec travelled to Nowy Sącz. The people of Bolesławiec also visited towns in the region, including Muszyna and Stary Sącz. During their stay, they noticed, among other things, flowerbeds shaped like elephants. As a result of the visit, an album was created with photographs of various contemporary innovations in the field of beautifying towns with greenery. In spring 1970, wire elephant structures were built in Bolesławiec, filled with soil and suitably planted with flowers. Thus, the Bolesławiec elephants came into being.
Piast Hotel: Between 1972 and 1978, Bolesławiec planned to build the Kosmos Hotel, which was intended to become a new symbol of the region’s tourism development. However, the investment was not completed and was ultimately carried out in Lubin. In Bolesławiec, the ambitious plans were replaced by the Piast Hotel. Classified as a city-centre hotel, the building became a kind of relic of a bygone era. It was demolished in 2011.
Concordia Water Tower: In May 2020, an event of major significance for Bolesławiec’s cultural heritage took place: the demolition of the historic water tower, which had once formed part of the Concordia complex of buildings. Concordia as a whole is an important part of Bolesławiec’s industrial history, bearing witness to the city’s industrial development at the end of the 19th century.
At the beginning of the 1870s, an important phase of industrial development began in the Bolesławiec region, pioneered by Samuel Woller. As the owner of a worsted-wool spinning mill and weaving mill in Leśna, he decided to build a factory in the Górne Młyny area of Bolesławiec. The spinning mill, launched in 1873, was known for its English-inspired designs, both in its construction and the technologies used. Wool was imported directly from England and its colonies, demonstrating the ambitions and international reach of the plant.
Initially, 150 workers were employed at the spinning mill, making a significant contribution to the local labour market. After the First World War, the plant underwent a series of improvements, and in 1921 a new building was erected, featuring the distinctive tower bearing the inscription “Concordia”. In the 1920s, the company became one of the fastest-growing enterprises in Bolesławiec.
Unfortunately, production at the spinning mill was halted in 1943, and its premises were adapted for industrial purposes, including the production of aircraft parts for “Weser – Flug AG”. During the Second World War, from 2 October 1944, a forced-labour subcamp, AL Bunzlau II, associated with the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, operated at the site. The prisoners working there were involved, among other things, in producing wings for Focke-Wulf 190 fighter aircraft, a tragic episode in the plant’s history.