Kolej Wilanowska
The Kolej Wilanowska was a narrow-gauge railway in Poland . It operated from 1891 to 1971. The line with a track width of initially 800 and later 1000 millimeters connected the southwestern part of Warsaw with various southeastern suburbs and ended in Piaseczno . At the time of its greatest expansion, it had a length of 15 miles.
history
In 1885, the Warsaw press reported for the first time about the planning of the construction of railway lines in the vicinity of Warsaw. On July 17, 1887, Eugeniusz Paszkowski received a first license to build a railway line from Warsaw to Góra Kalwaria (also via Piaseczno). In 1891 Henryk Huss and Wiktor Magnus then founded another company for the purpose of building and operating a Warsaw suburban railway that was to lead to Wilanów . The first section of this railway, from the Belweder exit station (located at the Belvedere Palace ) to the Czerniaków stop - partly along Ulica Belwederska and Ulica Jana III Sobieskiego - was inaugurated on May 16, 1891. On May 5, 1892, the second part from Czerniaków to Wilanów was opened. After disputes between the shareholders, Magnus left the company.
On May 14, 1894, the short but important connection between Plac Unii Lubelskiej in Warsaw and the station in Belweder was opened. Until then, the trains were pulled by horses. From September 1, 1894, steam locomotives were used here; this Warsaw line was thus the pioneer among the narrow-gauge railways in what was then Congress Poland . In 1895, the Russian authorities gave permission to expand the line from Wilanów via Klarysew, Jeziorna and Konstancin to Chylice and Piaseczno . From there the expansion to Grójec to the “Czersk” sugar factory in Jasieniec was approved. From June 9, 1895, the new line reached the village of Powsin. On June 21, 1896, a branch line from Jeziorna to the Mirków paper mill located here was finally put into operation. In September 1896 the line to Piaseczno was opened. In 1898 Piaseczno received another railway connection through a direct meter-gauge line from Warsaw, it was later extended on the one hand to Góra Kalwaria and on the other hand to Grójec and Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą and referred to as "Kolej Grójecka". There was no track connection between the two railways, but the stations in Piaseczno still simply bore the name of the town without any distinctive addition.
20th century
After the company was taken over by Count Stefan Lubomirski and Tomasz Zamoyski, Towarzystwo Akcyjne Warszawskich Dróg Żelaznych Podjazdowych (Warsaw Society for Feeder Railways) was founded on September 12, 1911 - together with Belgian investors . This company also operated the older line to Góra Kalwaria. The outbreak of World War I initially prevented further expansion of the line. When the Russian troops withdrew in 1915, sections of the route were destroyed and locomotives were taken. From 1916, driving could be resumed. In 1920, newly built - still existing - train station buildings were opened in Wilanów, Klarysew and Piaseczno. The architect of the manor-style objects in Wilanów and Klarysew was Konstanty Sylwin Jakimowicz. In 1932 the operating company was renamed Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa SA (Warsaw Supply Railway AG).
On November 24, 1934, the standard gauge connection of the Polish state railway PKP was opened - in the presence of the President Ignacy Mościcki - from Warsaw via Radom to Krakow , Piaseczno received a station on this route. To distinguish it from this, the Kolej Wilanowska station in Piasseczno was named "Piaseczno Północne", and the Kolej Grójecka station was named "Piaseczno Miasto". A short time later, the PKP also opened up the paper mill in Jeziorna. On February 2, 1935, the removal of the railway line from the city streets in Warsaw was ordered and completed in August of the same year. Since then, Belweder station has been the Kolej Wilanowska. The remaining route was established in May 1936 on meter gauge umgespurt and Piaseczno Północne after Iwiczna extended, thereby preparing Following the meterspurige also Kolej Grójecka. In 1937 Wilanów was connected to the Warsaw city tram network. During the German occupation in Warsaw , the line was initially continued to operate, but was partially destroyed in the further course of the Second World War. After the war, the PKP took over the line and repaired it. Initially used by commuters, the increasing bus traffic led to a decrease in passenger numbers. On July 1, 1952, the stop in Obory was closed, in 1957 the connection between Belweder and Wilanów was closed and in 1971 the remaining section Wilanów – Iwiczna was closed.
References and comments
- ^ Henryk Huss (1838–1915) was a Polish railway engineer and entrepreneur
- ↑ The station was on a site next to the square where the Plac Unii building now stands
- ↑ today belongs to the Warsaw district of Wilanów
- ↑ a b Bogdan Pokropiński: Kolej wilanowska . Wydawnictwa Komunikacji i Łączności sp. z oo, Warszawa 2001, ISBN 83-206-1405-8
- ↑ according to Julius A. Chroscicki and Andrzej Rottermund: Architectural Atlas of Warsaw , 1st edition, Arkady, Warsaw 1978, p. 222.
literature
- Tomasz Lachowski, Konstancin. Obrazy z przeszłości ( Konstancin. Pictures from the past ), Publisher Definition Design, ISBN 83-923130-5-4 , 2008, p. 33 ff.
- Muzeum Pałac w Wilanowie (ed.), Dawno temu w Wilanowie , Verlag Definition Design, 83-923130-1-1, 2006, p. 35
Web links
