Inspiring space: Metallurgical Museum in Chorzów

The Museum of Metallurgy in Chorzów is located on a post-industrial site, in the vicinity of the plants still in operation, in the heart of the former Royal Steelworks, located in the city centre (about 200 m in a straight line from the Market Square). Completed in 2020, the project involved the refurbishment of the historic former power station on Metalowców Street, which was adapted and extended with a new volume

Simple, austere forms, Corten steel facades together with large glazings distinguish the new volumes from the restored, authentic historic buildings. The museum houses exhibition spaces with a multimedia permanent exhibition, a temporary exhibition hall, a painting exhibition, multifunctional rooms, training rooms and the necessary museum and administrative facilities

The oldest part of the building housing the Steelworks Museum was built in 1895. When the new power plant of the Kościuszko Steelworks was commissioned during the 3-year Plan period of 1947-1949, the old power plant building changed its purpose, although it continued to be part of the Steelworks Electrical Department. In the 1970s, an electrical switching station and a motor store operated here. In 2010, the city of Chorzów purchased the historic hall from Bank Handlowy in Warsaw. The local government of the time came up with the idea of creating Poland’s first museum of the iron and steel industry during the industrial revolution. It was decided to present more than 200 years of metallurgical history in the area of today’s Chorzów

In 2017. The Coal Mining Museum in Zabrze (main beneficiary) and the City of Chorzów (project partner) became beneficiaries of a grant from the European Union. The project ‘Revitalising and providing access to the post-industrial heritage of Upper Silesia’ was co-financed under the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme 2014-2020. The investment was implemented between 2018 and 2020. The idea of the Chorzów Metallurgical Museum grows out of a concern for memory and a deep conviction of its life-giving importance. In the heart of the former Royal Steelworks, an inspiring space has been created in which the past, present and future are to form a harmonious whole. It is here that the story of the city, industry and the people who have made it up over the centuries becomes a starting point for reflecting on a constantly changing world. The project for the revitalisation of the historic former power station of Huta Królewska was created by BLANK Architekci

Source: blankarchitekci.pl, museumhutnictwa.pl

Read also: Architecture | Metamorphosis | Museum | Monument | History | Architecture in Poland