The issue of developing the green area in the city centre had been controversial from the outset. In 2001, Bolesławiec merchants and residents of the streets adjoining the square opposed the planned construction of a shopping and service centre there.
Referendum against the shopping centre
The issue of developing the block bounded by Asnyka, Łukasiewicza, Karola Miarki and Bielska streets stirred all of Bolesławiec. At the time, the mayor was Józef Burniak, who supported the idea of building a shopping gallery, while his political opponent, Piotr Roman, was against it. Several years later, their positions would be reversed.
Polska Unia Gospodarcza brought about the organisation of a referendum on the issue. The referendum question concerned approval for allocating the green area for the construction of a shopping and service centre. Although 85% of voters opposed construction of the shopping complex, the referendum was invalid because turnout was too low. Nevertheless, the planned shopping gallery was never built there. In March 2002, the block was acquired in perpetual usufruct by ST Projekt.
The creation of Rev. Jerzy Popiełuszko Square
In December 2004, the block bounded by Asnyka, Łukasiewicza, Karola Miarki and Bielska streets was named Rev. Jerzy Popiełuszko Square. Councillors decided to give the previously unnamed square a name. Naming the square after a Catholic saint was highly significant to the councillors. Interestingly, when a cultural centre wanted to hold City Days there in 2005 and sell beer, councillors from the Health Committee and the Education and Culture Committee voted by a majority not to allow it. As a result, the mayor withdrew the idea, and the councillors removed the site from the resolution that would have permitted the organisation of a festival with alcohol sales.
The city takes over the square. An idea for a shopping and service complex
After lengthy negotiations with ST Projekt, the municipality of Bolesławiec regained Rev. Popiełuszko Square in 2005. In exchange for the site in the city centre, the municipality granted perpetual usufruct of land on Tysiąclecia and Gałczyńskiego streets, where a Tesco hypermarket was built on the former MPK depot site.
The idea of building a shopping centre on the square also returned during a City Council session. A sports and recreational complex was planned there, consisting of a shopping and service complex, a hotel, a swimming pool, an ice rink, a shopping gallery and residential space. A simulation of the project is shown below. It assumed development of the entire block. The estimated cost of the complex at the time was PLN 44 million. This once again sparked heated discussion, particularly online. This time, mayor Piotr Roman supported the idea of building the complex, which he had opposed just four years earlier.
The pergola levelled to the ground and two concepts for developing the square
There was a pergola on Popiełuszko Square, which the city removed and levelled to the ground in 2007. The idea of developing the square was being pushed all along. Two concepts for its development were presented at a City Council session on 29 August 2007.
Once developed, the property, covering more than 2 hectares, was intended to serve two purposes: commercial and public. Parking spaces were planned, and an underground car park was considered. The square was to be divided into two plots. A shopping gallery would stand on one, and a swimming pool on the other. The pool was to be built with funds from the Municipality of Bolesławiec after taking out a loan.
Piotr Roman promoted the idea of a municipal swimming pool. The issue caused considerable controversy during the session. Józef Burniak, a councillor from the Left and Democrats, even said that the mayor was trying to “lure councillors into a trap” and shift part of the responsibility for his decisions onto them. One point of contention was the fact that the former mayor wanted the square to be developed under a PPP (Public-Private Partnership), which, according to Piotr Roman, would be unprofitable and could lead to legal sanctions.
Civic Platform against the elimination of the city’s green heart
The issue of developing Popiełuszko Square once again dominated a City Council session in November 2008. During a discussion lasting more than an hour, Cezariusz Rudyk of Civic Platform said: “We are being asked to decide about the most beautiful investment site in the city,” and noted that a year earlier some councillors, including Platform members, had expressed criticism of the options for developing the square.
“Is this the right way to develop it? Is this the right time?” asked Cezariusz Rudyk. “Can the combination of a swimming pool with large-format stores be justified substantively? We cannot find such a justification. We have spoken with both urban planners and architects. It is a risky and extremely difficult combination,” added the Civic Platform councillor.
Piotr Roman debated the councillor. He noted that multifunctional combinations were becoming increasingly fashionable in German architecture. According to urban planners there, an unusual combination of facilities could attract people. Roman appealed to the City Council to take a broader view of developing the square.
“A large-format store, a water park, a cinema and the International Ceramics Centre, all concentrated within a radius of several hundred metres,” Piotr Roman urged in support of his concept.
Despite the opposition, the Council adopted a resolution on the local spatial development plan for Popiełuszko Square. Civic Platform councillors, Lesław Śliwko and Dominik Chodyra, voted against it. Stanisław Andrusieczko of SLD abstained.
The Orka swimming pool is built on Popiełuszko Square
Work on the new swimming pool lasted two years, between 2010 and 2011. Bolesławiec residents supported the construction of an indoor pool in the city. The Municipality received PLN 6 million in funding from the Regional Operational Programme. The investment was worth more than PLN 19 million. The municipal authorities announced a competition to name the pool, and residents called it “Orka”.
In 2025, the Orka water park in Bolesławiec operates as part of the Municipal Sports and Recreation Centre, and the city contributes almost PLN 1.5 million to the pool’s operation.
Nineteen trees cut down on Popiełuszko Square. Construction of the Ibis hotel begins
The construction of a hotel on the square was also the mayor’s idea, and even his dream.
“Bolesławiec urgently needs a hotel at this point,” Piotr Roman said during a session in 2016. “The city will not build one because it cannot; legal regulations do not allow it. And there are more and more requests from tour operators, especially at tourism fairs in Berlin, where we try to be present and promote the Ceramics Festival and other city events. Tour operators say: we know Bolesławiec; you are an attractive city. We know your events. We could bring you one or two busloads of tourists a week, but you do not have a hotel. We reply: all right, but we have wonderful guesthouses. The tour operators answer: if we bring two busloads of tourists, we must accommodate them all in one place,” the mayor added.
In 2018, M&J Modern Construction began construction of the facility. The investor that built the Ibis hotel on Popiełuszko Square, right next to Bolesławiec Water Park “Orka”, received a building permit and cut down 19 trees on its land. For the tree removal, it had to pay a PLN 60,000 deposit. The tree felling looked dramatic. The investor undertook to plant 19 other trees in return in order to recover the deposit.
The last distinctive structure on the square is removed
On 25 February 2014, the fountain on Rev. J. Popiełuszko Square in Bolesławiec was demolished. It had been out of operation for 20 years. The fountain was built in 1978 from ceramic blocks, based on a design by brothers Czesław and Stanisław Wiącek from Wrocław, ceramic artists.
Czesław Wiącek, one of the fountain’s designers, graduated from the Wrocław PWSSP and in 1965–66 worked as a designer at the Ćmielów Porcelain Factory. He belongs to the International Association of Graphic Artists XYLON. He practises printmaking, artistic and industrial ceramics, sculpture and painting. Together with his brother Stanisław and son Jacek, he created 15 architectural compositions (bas-reliefs, fountains and sculptures).
Expansion of the Ibis hotel; developer supports the Ceramics Festival
In January 2025, Hotel ibis Styles in Bolesławiec announced that the facility would be expanded by 24 new hotel rooms and a modern section with 55 exclusive, higher-standard hotel apartments would be built. The investment cost is PLN 58,000,000. The main contractor is M&J Construction. In 2025, it also sponsored the clay theatre of Bogusław Nowak during the Ceramics Festival. We wrote about this in the article: Developers sponsor a Bolesławiec restaurateur’s event at the Ceramics Festival.
A representative of M&J confirmed that the company is sponsoring the Ceramics Festival this year, but did not provide details. To this day, it is unknown whether M&J has an agreement with BOK–MCC, an agreement with Nowak, or perhaps two agreements. The company is nevertheless listed on the Festival poster as a bronze sponsor.
Archaeological curiosities discovered on Popiełuszko Square
Today’s Popiełuszko Square is located in the historic part of Bolesławiec (Bunzlau), known as the upper suburb. This part of the city was destroyed during the Napoleonic Wars in 1813.
During work to expand the Ibis hotel, a number of interesting discoveries were made. After the ground was uncovered, cellars from the beginning of the 19th century were found. According to the archaeologists working on site, these were likely parts of a building constructed after the Napoleonic Wars. In addition to a fragment of the boundary wall of the property on which the building stood, numerous movable artefacts were found. They included a tin containing German pfennigs dating from the beginning of the 20th century, a number of old bottles, a cup, horseshoes, a little bell and a teaspoon, as well as other small objects. After detailed analysis, the secured finds were handed over to a museum.