Paris has Eiffel Tower, Pisa - The Leaning Tower, while Silesian cities have water towers.
They are absolute masterpieces of art and technology. Yet, they do not gain the admiration they deserve as they can serve as view terrace, lofts or galleries.
Photo. Dawid Chalimoniuk / AG
Silesia can boast of its Monuments of Technology Trail, which is the only tourist trail of this kind in Poland. Old coal mines, power stations and historic breweries await the tourists who choose to visit this unusual region. Nevertheless, even though the water towers together with the winding shafts are the most recognizable symbols of Silesia, their spark usually remains unnoticed.
About 40 water towers, displaying the great variety of architectural styles, have still remained in the Silesian Province. Some of them still perform their functions, however, most of them are falling into ruins.
- In Europe we can actually notice a phenomenon which I would call a water towers renaissance. They are adapted for various purposes. Germany showed great inventiveness in this field. In Bramsche, a water tower was adapted for flats, in Konstanz it was exploited as a youth hostel and in Mulheim as the Museum of Water. In our region, even though they are tall and distinctive buildings, they remain unnoticed. - says Dariusz Walerjański, the chairman of the Monument Preservation Association in Zabrze and an enthusiast of water towers.
An example of an enormous negligence is the water tower located on Zamoyska street in Zabrze. This colossal building was constructed in 1909 and it rests upon eight brick buttresses supporting the 2000 square meter tank. The two-level flats situated in between the buttresses testify to the uniqueness of this tower. The structure looks like a futuristic vision of a mad architect. In the year 2000, the town sold the construction to a citizen of Switzerland. From that moment on, its condition has been deteriorating. It has also been plundered numerous times. The owner was obliged in the contract to adapt the building by the year 2004. - Yet, he violated the terms of the contract and now the court has imposed a PLN 162,000 fine on him. We hope that this will force him to start the modernization of the tower.- says Katarzyna Kuczyńska, the spokesperson of the Municipal Office in Zabrze.
There are some exceptions, however. In Ruda Śląska, architecturally simple and modern water tower, situated at the junction of Niedurnego, Pokoju and Chorzowska streets, still works. Recently the town has decided to illuminate it and now, together with the surrounding renewed tenements, they constitute one of the most beautiful junctions in the whole agglomeration. - If we have the Monuments of Technology Trail, maybe it is worth creating a Water Towers Trail. Giving publicity to them is the only way to save them from total destruction - advocates Walerjański.
(source: Tomasz Malkowski, Gazeta Wyborcza, 25th November 2006)
