Fot. ZPKSoft/Paweł Krzyżanowski/fotopolska.eu

Palace of Zagłębie Culture in Dąbrowa Górnicza. The second largest monument to socialist realism in Poland

The Palace of Zagłębie Culture is one of the most important examples of socialist realist architecture in the region, designed by the outstanding architect Zbigniew Rzepecki. Its monumental mass is the second largest Socialist Realist monument in Poland, second only to the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw.

The idea to build a community centre in Dąbrowa Górnicza was born as early as 1945 on the initiative of General Aleksander Zawadzki, the then Silesian-Dąbrowa voivode. The design by Zbigniew Rzepecki was created a few years later, and in 1949 the Culture House Building Committee was established. The work, carried out by the Sosnowiec Municipal Building Association, began in May 1951. Funding came from the state budget, trade unions, as well as from the city’s residents and community activities.

1969 Source: Sztygarka City Museum in Dąbrowa Górnicza

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The official opening of the building, then called the Zagłębie Cultural Centre, took place on 11 January 1958. Since then, the building has served as the most important cultural and educational centre in the city. In 1992, the building was renamed the Dąbrowski Palace of Culture, and over the years it has been modernised several times. The largest renovation took place between 2011 and 2014, when the façade and interiors were restored, including stucco, panelling and historic parquet floors, and the attic was adapted for new rooms.

Fot ZPKSoft/Paweł Krzyżanowski/fotopolska.eu

The building is located in the city centre, at Freedom Square. It was built on a symmetrical plan, with a rectangular main body and side wings. The brick façade finished in clinker and sandstone emphasises the monumentality of the building, whose body is set on a rusticated plinth.

Photo author: Arkadiusz K. (Arro)/photopolska.eu

The main south façade is distinguished by three three-storey bodies. The central one, projecting forward, is preceded by a staircase leading to five entrances, decorated with geometric wrought-iron motifs in the wooden doors. Above them is a portico supported by four double pillars with decorative capitals. The balustrade crowning the façade and the inscription “CULTURE AND ART” emphasise the representative character of the building.

Pałac Kultury Zagłębia
Kultural89, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The side wings of the building are symmetrical and harmoniously designed. Their façades, decorated with windows with geometric divisions and stone details, give the whole building coherence and monumentality. The side and rear elevations maintain a similar rhythm and proportion, which emphasises the social realist style of the edifice.

Pałac Kultury Zagłębia
Kulturalna89, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kulturalna89, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The interior of the Palace of Zagłębie Culture impresses with its rich décor, which is dominated by marbleisation, ceramic wall coverings and stucco. The spacious corridors are decorated with columns and ornamentation, and the biggest attraction is the auditorium with a seating capacity of around 700, equipped with a revolving stage and backstage facilities. In addition, there is a cinema auditorium with a seating capacity of 88, as well as rooms for galleries, art studios, a theatre and a café.

Kultural89, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pałac Kultury Zagłębia
Kulturalna89, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Palace of Zagłębie Culture has retained its historical value to this day, being an icon of Polish socialist realism and one of the most important points on the cultural map of Dąbrowa Górnicza and the surrounding area.

Source: zabytek.pl, palac.art.pl

Read also: Monument | Socialist realism| Architecture of the Polish People’s Republic | Architecture in Poland | whiteMAD on Instagram