For many years, the cult Kosmos cinema was the largest and most important cinema facility in the entire Lublin region. The heyday of the place was in the years of communist Poland, when the biggest film screenings and famous premieres took place here. Today, the building no longer exists, but a trace of it has been preserved in Lublin in the form of a neon sign on the façade of the Labyrinth Gallery.
The establishment of the Kosmos cinema and the communist era
At the end of the 1950s, the construction of a new cinema hall in Stanisława Leszczyńskiego Street in Lublin began. The building was to be one of the modern symbols of the developing city. Its design was prepared by Warsaw architects Dutkiewicz and J. Korzeniowski. However, work did not progress as expected. This was affected by financial difficulties and technical problems, so the investment was not completed until the early 1960s. The official opening of the Kosmos cinema was scheduled for 1 October 1961. The invited guests were scheduled to see the film Firemaster Kalen, but the first screening was cancelled. It was reported in the press that the projector cooling system had malfunctioned and there was trouble raising the curtain. The state-of-the-art cinema-symbol failed right from the start. Once the faults had been rectified, the facility finally began operations. In the first weeks, the repertoire included The Diary of Anne Frank and Billy Wilder’s The Hunchback, among others.
Kosmos cinema – architecture
The Kosmos was designed as a building with a distinctive form and spacious interior layout, following the typical pattern for cinemas built at the time. The entrance led to a large lobby with a wide staircase, which formed a representative background for the main screening room. The design of the rooms ensured adequate acoustics and audience comfort during screenings. The cinema auditorium could accommodate around 800 people.
Development and operation of the facility
In the 1970s, the Kosmos was considered one of the most modern facilities of its kind in Poland. It was equipped with a widescreen and equipment allowing the presentation of films recorded on 70mm film with sound divided into six tracks. Later, a Dolby Digital system was also added. Thanks to the work of experienced cameramen and technicians, many popular titles were screened at the Kosmos cinema, often in more screenings than in other cities. The film Knights of the Teutonic Knights was screened there as many as 1,200 times, which was several times more than the typical life span of the tape used at the time.
The Kosmos cinema in 2011 and the same venue in 2025. Source: Google Maps
The Kosmos cinema in Lublin and its end
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the cinema gradually lost its previous prominence. Both the technical condition of the building and the quality of the equipment were deteriorating. Modernisation work on the Kosmos was then undertaken by the Warsaw-based company MAX-FILM S.A., which planned to refresh the appearance of the building and build additional screening rooms. This was to bring the building back to the city and breathe a spirit of progress into it. The highest attendance in the last period of operation was recorded during the broadcast of Ogniem i mieczem, directed by Jerzy Hoffman. The last screening took place on 1 March 2009, ending almost 50 years of cinema operation.
Demolition of the building and the “Kosmos” neon sign
After the closure of the building, several attempts were made to rent or sell it. Due to a lack of takers and a lack of ideas on how to develop the cinema, it was eventually earmarked for demolition. The new owner of the property was the Centrum Zana company, which planned to develop services on the site. The demolition of the Kosmos was completed on 26 April 2012, which finally removed the cinema from the landscape of Lublin. In its place, the Centrum Park complex was built, with offices and flats partly overlooking the Saski Garden. Residents and city councillors sought to preserve the characteristic neon sign with the inscription ‘Kosmos’ as a reminder. Fortunately, it was possible to save this piece of history. It was donated to the city and then restored thanks to an initiative by the European Foundation for Urban Culture. Since 2013, the illumination has adorned the façade of the Labyrinth Gallery on Józefa Poniatowskiego Street. The ceremonial unveiling of the neon in its new surroundings took place during Lublin’s Night of Culture.
Source: kurierlubelski.pl, polska-org.pl
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