Paper mill in Konstancin-Jeziorna

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The factory seen from the south
Main entrance to Konstans Sp.z oo
Dilapidated historical building fabric
Disused railway connection

The paper mill in Konstancin-Jeziorna (also: Warszawskie Zakłady Papiernicze ) was the largest paper mill in Poland and was one of the largest of its kind in Europe in the 1980s. After its privatization in the 1990s, the factory in the town of Konstancin-Jeziorna lost its importance. The paper manufacturer, which still employed around 200 people in 2011, ceased production in 2012.

Geographical location

The factory is located on the eastern edge of the city in the former Jeziorna. It covers an area of ​​around 70 hectares. A channel 1000 meters west of north to the then Vistula flowing Jeziorka branches, the factory supplied with the required amounts of water for papermaking. The facility can be reached via Ulica Mirkowska or Aleja Wojska Polskiego . The address is Mirkowska 45 . About 100 meters west of the factory entrance is the Joseph Church of the Catholic community in the district (Polish: Kościół Świętego Józefa Oblubieńca Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Jeziornie Fabrycznej-Mirkowie ).

history

A mill in Jeziorna had been making paper since 1760. A more modern factory was built in the 1830s. Since this factory - today the Stara Papiernia shopping center - could no longer be expanded, the construction of larger buildings began around 1000 meters east. The new factory was from now on referred to as “Dolna Papiernia” ( Lower Paper Mill ), the old one as “Górna Papiernia” ( Upper Paper Mill ).

The Mirków paper mill ( Towarzystwo Akcyjne Mirkowskiej Fabryki Papieru ) took over both plants from the previous owners, the Roesler family . The main shareholders of this company were Edward Natanson and the banker Leopold Stanisław Kronenberg . After the Konstancin plants were taken over, the eponymous factory in the village of Mirków was closed and its machines were moved to Konstancin. As a result, the "Dolna Papiernia" was therefore called the "Mirków" factory by the population. This name was also used as a name for the district and the feeder road.

At the turn of the 20th century, the “Dolna Papiernia” became the largest paper mill in Poland thanks to constant expansion. The old factory lost its importance and was only used to store and pretreat rags for pulp production.

In 1939 the factory employed 1,200 workers and the annual output of paper products and cellulose was around 13,000 tons. In the summer before the outbreak of war , there was considerable investment in modernization.

After the war the factory was renamed Warszawskie Zakłady Papiernicze (German: Warschauer Papierfabriken ). The "WZP" was one of the most important paper mills in the People's Republic of Poland . In the 1960s, a biological sewage treatment plant was set up at the end of the old working channel. In the late 1980s, the factory employed 2,000 workers and the annual output was 75,000 tons. In 1985, when the 225th anniversary of its existence was celebrated, the plant was the largest paper mill in Europe. In the 1990s the company became part of a closed National Investment Fund (NFI).

today

In January 1998, the Finnish paper company Metsä Tissue took over Warszawskich Zakładów Papierniczych . The factory in Konstancin has since operated under the name Konstans Sp.z oo and mainly produced tissue papers . Products manufactured here were sold under the Lambi , Mola and Katrin brands. The company has also run a small paper-making museum ( Muzeum Papiernictwa ) since 1995 .

In 2010, the Finnish company announced the closure of the factory, which took place in 2012. Around 200 still employed workers were affected. Real estate developers are already interested in the company premises.

References and comments

  1. ↑ The Joseph Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built between 1907 and 1909 based on a design by Hugo Kuder in neo-Gothic style from donations from the local paper mill workers and the factory owner Edward Natanson
  2. ↑ The name is probably based on the direction of flow of the Jeziorka and the parallel working channel.
  3. ^ Edward Natanson (1861-1940) was a Polish entrepreneur and banker of Jewish descent. He was a co-founder of the paper mill and president of the Warsaw sugar production company Towarzystwa Fabryk Cukru SA
  4. ↑ a b according to Article Fabryka Papieru w Mirkowie: 1760-2012 at Konstancin24.eu of March 8, 2011 (in Polish)
  5. ↑ Measured against the production capacity of an individual plant
  6. ↑ according to Article Koniec papierni w Konstancinie! at Konstancin24.eu from May 31, 2010 (in Polish)

Web links

Commons : Konstancin-Jeziorna paper mill  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 52 ° 5 ′ 55 ″  N , 21 ° 8 ′ 20 ″  E