Life after the mine. Offices will be built in the old shaft. There are visualizations
Offices and service points in a former mining shaft? It is feasible, but the 95-year-old shaft in Bytom will have to be expanded and modernized. The city authorities are happy that the iconic building, one of the most important post-industrial monuments in Silesia, will gain a new life.
The Krystyna shaft in Bytom, one of the most famous monuments related to coal mining, has a chance for revitalization, after which it will fulfill a completely new function. The owner of the shaft – Multi Polymers – has already submitted an application for EU funding for the development and protection of the shaft. The project was prepared by architects from the renowned Medusa Group studio.
The Krystyna shaft in Bytom will be revitalized
– Krystyna Shaft is one of the most important post-industrial industrial monuments. We want this facility to be saved, which is why we supported the investor's activities related to the preparation of an application for EU funding. Szyb Krystyna, like EC Szombierki, are pearls of industrial architecture – says the mayor of Bytom, Mariusz Wołosz.
He adds that an opportunity for them are EU funds, the acquisition of which will enable not only revitalization, but also the creation of new functions in these historic buildings.
According to the design concept, a comprehensive adaptation of the 95-year-old modernist building entered into the register of monuments was planned. The project includes a change of use, renovation of the facility and its expansion. The final expansion was planned in such a way that the new volume would refer to the former shape of the shaft head.
Ultimately, the Krystyna Shaft will be expanded. The newly designed volume will be implemented using modern means. The materials and aesthetic means used will refer in their character to the original industrial solutions.
– Szyb Krystyna is one of the oldest preserved post-industrial facilities in our city. Its revitalization combined with the development of the surrounding areas is a chance not only to save this facility, but also to create another post-mining area in the city serving the residents of Bytom – after the areas of the former KWK Rozbark, KWK Szombierki, KWK Powstańców Śląskich – says the deputy mayor of Bytom, Michał Bieda.
The total cost of revitalizing the facility is approximately PLN 23 million.
The history of the Krystyna Shaft in Bytom
The Krystyna shaft of the no longer existing Szombierki Hard Coal Mine (former Hohenzollerngrube) is one of the most characteristic elements of Bytom's panorama.
At that time, it was the first tower in Upper Silesia with electric winding machines placed on the head. Its modernist façade, lined with red clinker, resembles a mining hammer. The Krystyna shaft lift tower, 57 meters high, was built in 1929, replacing the old Kaiser Wilhelm shaft tower.
In 1970, the Szombierki coal mine was connected with the Karol mine in Orzegów, and in 1993 with the Centrum coal mine in Bytom. The process of liquidation of the Szombierki coal mine began in 1996, and the infrastructure was dismantled by the end of 2001. All that remains of the mine is the Ewa Shaft, which is still used for drainage and is part of the Central Mine Drainage Plant in Czeladź, and the Krystyna Shaft, which on December 30, 2004 was entered into the register of monuments of the Silesian Voivodeship.
