UM w Sierpcu

The railway station in Sierpc is as good as new. Here is the effect of modernisation

·13 May 2025

After long years of oblivion and ruin, the railway station in Sierpc is once again bustling with life. Its extensive modernisation has recently come to an end, and residents and travellers can finally enjoy a renewed, functional space. As of 4 May 2025, the Sierpc railway station is once again an integral part of the city.

Sierpc railway station – origins

The origins of Sierpc railway station date back to 1924. It was at this time that the construction of the railway line linking Sierpc and Nasielsk was completed and, with its launch, the new station building was put into use. The design of the station was drawn up at the Warsaw State Railway Directorate. Its author was most likely the architect and engineer Romuald Miller, who headed the construction department at the time. Some studies also mention the name of Jan Jaroszyński. The building was part of the so-called National Style, very popular between the wars. Its form referred to the architecture of landed manors, which was an expression of the desire to emphasise Polish identity in the public space. Its massive mass, expressive cornices, steep roofs and ornamented elevations evoked associations with the Renaissance and Baroque in the local edition. This impression was heightened by the light-coloured plaster walls, the classical columns at the entrance and the various shapes of the doors and windows.

A design similar to other

The interior of the building, with a floor area of 640 square metres, housed a circulation walkway, waiting room, ticket office and luggage storage. The station in Sierpc was one of many built to the same design. Similar buildings were erected on other sections of the newly emerging railway network. Slightly larger buildings with an additional wing were constructed, for example, in Koło and Konin. We wrote about the Konin railway station HERE. The ceremonial opening of the new railway building in Sierpc took place on 5 June 1924 in the presence of the Minister of Transport, Kazimierz Tyszko. In the vicinity of the building there was a water tower, also built according to a standardised design from the 1920s (similar ones stand in Konin, Sochaczew or Żyrardów), as well as a freight warehouse, a weighbridge and a housing estate for railwaymen and their families. The spring from which the station drew its water was located on the River Skrwa in Mieszczek and was connected to the water tower by a pipeline about two kilometres long. In the 1930s three signal boxes and a small steam engine house were built at the Sierpc station.

Sierpc railway station and its subsequent fate

During World War II, the station had an important strategic function. At that time, the Germans expanded the technical facilities, enlarging, among other things, the steam locomotive depot and increasing the capacity to carry heavy freight. Until the late 1980s, Sierpc remained one of the last bastions of steam traction in Poland. No diesel locomotives were used here, and traffic was carried almost exclusively by steam locomotives. After 1989, the technical condition of the building, which had not been renovated for years, began to gradually deteriorate. In 1999, the station was entered in the register of historical monuments, but was closed to travellers just four years later. Over the following decades, the building continued to deteriorate, at that time serving mainly as a setting for film productions. In 2008, scenes for the film ‘General Nil’ were filmed here, with Sierpc ‘playing’ Biała Podlaska. In 2010, the station was used in the film ‘Historia Roja’, and a year later in ‘Polish Siberia’.

To the rescue of a historical monument

In 2020, the Polish State Railways decided to sell the building, but despite the attractive price, no takers were found. Eventually, the railway station was handed over to the city for a symbolic zloty. The local government then made sure to raise funds for the renovation and prepared a project to renovate the decaying monument. Construction work began in May 2023 and lasted a year and a half. The total works amounted to nearly PLN 8.8 million gross, and the value of the entire investment exceeded PLN 9.5 million. The scope of works included landscaping and comprehensive modernisation of the building. As part of this, the entire historic body of the building was renovated, essentially restoring it to its condition from 100 years ago. Noticeably missing are the decorative spheres, originally located, among others, above the entrance and at the stairs. During the renovation, it was not decided to restore them. Selected rooms were left as they were with a view to future administrative and public functions.

The project ‘Revitalisation of the historic part of the city – phase 2’ was made possible thanks to financial support from various sources. Almost PLN 4.5 million was provided by the Government’s Polish Order Fund, and a further PLN 4 million came from the budget of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship as part of a programme to support the even development of the region.

Source: Sierpc Town Hall

Sierpc railway station past and present. Photo by Grzegorz W. Tężycki, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons and UM w Sierpcu