History of Toruń’s New Bielany pump station (1916–1917) in the light of archival records

Daria Jagiełło

doi:10.37190/arc240402

Summary

In 2022-2023, the New Bielany pump station complex in Toruń was adapted for cultural purposes. The building was constructed in 1916-1917 as part of the city’s water supply system. The article presents the history of the building’s construction based on preserved archival materials. The circumstances of the pump station’s establishment, its location, architectural design, and the course of construction works are discussed. Special attention is paid to technical issues related to the facility’s pumping equipment. The text is supplemented with previously unpublished iconographic materials.

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2024

4(80)

Daria Jagiełło*

History of Toruń’s New Bielany pump station (1916–1917)

in the light of archival records

DOI: 10.37190/arc240402

Published in open access. CC BY NC ND license

Abstract

In the years 2022–2023, the adaptation of one of the former Toruń pumping stations – the so-called Nowe Bielany – was carried out (the comple-

tion of its construction is dated at 1917). For many years the plant supported the nearby Stare Bielany main station in supplying the city with water.

In the 1980s it was taken out of service and remained unused for the following years. Preparations related to the adaptation project revealed that the

history of the station was poorly understood and that the facility had not been the subject of research so far.

The article presents an interesting history of the construction and operation of the Nowe Bielany plant. The reasons that ultimately caused its

closure are also given. The circumstances of its construction, equipment, architecture, and the realities of the times in which it operated are presented,

while the importance of archival research for a better understanding of the facility is highlighted. The text was prepared mainly on the basis of the re-

sults of extensive archival research, sometimes confronted with the results of the analysis of the existing facility (before and after the adaptation work).

Nowe Bielany, as can be seen from the materials that have been obtained, was a plant built eciently and with great care (this is also conrmed

by the preserved correspondence). Owing to the recurring problems of water shortages in Toruń, great hopes were placed in its construction. Unfor-

tunately, the station did not meet these expectations (very high production costs, rapidly decreasing pump eciency and too little water in the wells),

which is why in the 1930s the search for a location for a new intake began.

Although the history presented is not a success story, the Nowe Bielany pumping station complex has turned out to be an interesting and valuable

witness to the development of the water and sewage infrastructure in Toruń.

Key words: waterworks, Toruń, technical heritage, history, industry in the 20

century

Introduction

Clean, running water is one of the basic human needs,

and the methods of its delivery have determined the di-

rections of development of urban centres for centuries. As

a result, extensive water supply networks with associated

above-ground facilities, often associated with the wide-

spread modernizations of the 19

and 20

centuries, have

become a permanent part of the urban fabric. The utilitar-

ian nature, the frequent economy of architecture, its value

dened mainly through the prisms of usefulness, ecien-

cy, and importance for meeting basic needs, often eec-

tively blend water supply buildings into the background of

everyday life leading to their presence being almost unreg-

istered by the city’s residents.

One of such overlooked objects was the former Toruń

pumping station, the so-called Nowe Bielany, built in the

second decade of the 20

century and intended to support

the main station supplying water to Toruń – Stare Bielany,

while also serving as an emergency intake (Fig. 1).

The complex is located in the north-western part of the

city, amidst a pine forest, on the campus of Nicolaus Co-

pernicus University. It consists of the main station building

(machine room), residential and utility buildings, and the

underground infrastructure. The facilities are located on

a large rectangular plot covered with greenery (Fig. 2).

The machine room is a two-element, symmetrical build-

ing with the southern part on a square plan, in the form

of a two-story tower covered with a hipped roof, and the

northern part on a rectangular plan, single-story, with

a high, three-slope roof. A skylight is located on the build-

ing’s axis, providing light to the extended underground

part extending beyond the above-ground perimeter walls.

* ORCID: 0000-0002-4437-0551. Faculty of Fine Arts, Nicolaus

Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland, e-mail: dar.jag@umk.pl

12 Daria Jagiełło

– pump hall (Fig. 3). To the north-west of it there is the

former motor driver’s house, built on a rectangular plan,

single-storey, covered with a gable roof with single exten-

sions on both slopes. The building has a basement and is

connected to the pump hall by an underground tunnel. To

the north of it there is a farm building with a simple, sin-

gle-story structure and a gable roof (Fig. 4).

The complex, although appreciated in many respects

from a monumental perspective and largely unchanged

Fig. 3. Toruń – the former Nowe Bielany pumping station:

machine room building (photo by D. Jagiełło, 2024)

Il. 3. Toruń – dawna stacja pomp Nowe Bielany:

budynek maszynowni (fot. D. Jagiełło, 2024)

Fig. 1. Toruń – location of historic pumping stations:

Stare Bielany (red), Mokre (purple), Podgórz (green), Nowe Bielany (blue)

(elaborated by D. Jagiełło, based on: www.geoportal.gov.pl 2024)

Il. 1. Toruń – lokalizacja historycznych stacji pomp:

Stare Bielany (czerwony), Mokre (purpurowy), Podgórz (zielony),

Nowe Bielany (niebieski)

(oprac. D. Jagiełło, na podstawie: www.geoportal.gov.pl 2024)

Fig. 2. Toruń – site plan of the former Nowe Bielany

pumping station complex:

1) machine room building, 2) residential building, 3) utility building

(elaborated by D. Jagiełło, based on: www.geoportal.gov.pl 2024)

Il. 2. Toruń – plan sytuacyjny zespołu

dawnej stacji pomp Nowe Bielany:

1) budynek maszynowni, 2) budynek mieszkalny,

3) budynek gospodarczy

(oprac. D. Jagiełło, na podstawie: www.geoportal.gov.pl 2024)

Fig. 4. Toruń – the former Nowe Bielany pumping station:

residential and utility building (photo by D. Jagiełło, 2024)

Il. 4. Toruń – dawna stacja pomp Nowe Bielany:

budynek mieszkalny i gospodarczy (fot. D. Jagiełło, 2024)

since its construction

, is subject to conservatory protec-

tion only because of the area entry of the university cam-

pus (Historyczny układ urbanistyczny… 2020). It is not

This was revealed by analyses conducted in order to formulate

conservation guidelines for the planned adaptation project [see: (Jagiełło

et al. 2022)]; this was the author’s rst contact with the facility and the

main impulse that resulted in the currently conducted research on the

water and sewage infrastructure of Toruń.

History of Toruń’s New Bielany pump station (1916–1917) in the light of archival records 13

individually entered in the register of monuments or even

included in the municipal or provincial records

. Currently,

the station is not performing its original function. In the

years 2021–2023, after a period of disuse, it was adapted to

house the Copernican Integration Centre of Nicolaus Co-

pernicus University.

The article presents the history of the construction and

functioning of Nowe Bielany, reconstructed on the basis of

preserved archival materials. The topic under discussion is

also an opportunity to illustrate the importance of archival

research, not only in terms of basic factual information,

but also as a source of valuable information that builds the

background and explains the circumstances and conditions.

The scope under consideration also includes the station

buildings and the area of the complex within the historic

boundaries that have been maintained to this day, with the

initial caesura designated for the period shortly before the

construction of the station, when the construction of a new

water supply infrastructure began in Toruń.

The adopted research method has been an archival

query conducted in several institutions in Toruń, e.g., in

the branches of the State Archives and in the archives of

the Pro vincial Oce for the Protection of Monuments, the

Municipal Conservator of Monuments, the National Heri-

tage Institute, and the Archives of the Toruń Waterworks.

The context for the results of oce research is the archi-

tectural analysis (in this case presented in its basic range).

State of research

The history of the Nowe Bielany pumping station, in-

cluding its construction, has not been the subject of in-

depth research so far. The complex was mentioned in the

form of a short note in a 20-page publication issued in 1993

on the occasion of the 100

anniversary of the Toruń wa-

terworks (Felski et al. 1993)

, and mentioned in articles by

Kazimierz Przybyszewski (1980) and Anna Świercz-Pru-

sicka (2005). The only study that presents facts concerning

the Nowe Bielany station in more detail is the unpublished

documentation of Szczuczko (Szczuczko, Wieczorkiewicz

1982). Our text expands the state of knowledge by numer-

ous additional information items.

Waterworks in Toruń

The rst real actions of the city authorities aimed at build-

ing “modern waterworks” in Toruń should be dated to 1868,

when the construction counsellor Henoch from Al ten burg

undertook to prepare a comprehensive design of supplying

the city with water from ground intakes (APT, AmT

ref. no. 5976, 3).

It was a natural reaction to population

Status as at 11/06/2024.

This is the only comprehensive study concerning the Toruń water-

works in the 19

and 20

centuries. Robert Kola and Leszek Kotlewski

(2003) wrote a paper on the subject of mediaeval and modern waterworks.

At a similar time, he was also the author of a design for, among

others, Gdańsk [see: (Gerlach 1884, 8)].

Abbreviations consistently used throughout this article: APT

– State Archives in Toruń, AmT – Records of the city of Toruń.

growth, expansion, and developing industry. Although the

design was rejected, eorts did not cease. In April 1891,

after preliminary studies and negotiations with the au-

thorities of the Toruń Fortress, work began on the design,

which in the years 1892–1894 resulted in the construc-

tion of the impressive Stare Bielany station in the area of

Bielany (a former manor farm), which received water from

the “Barbarka” and “Fort Chodkiewicza” intakes located

north of the city (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6180). The sta-

tion was equipped with steam engines driving two pumps

(APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6212; APT, AmT D, ref. no. 1648,

10)

. The engineer responsible for the technical design

was Heinrich Metzger, the author of the architectural part

was the construction counsellor Rudolph Schmidt (APT,

AmT D, ref. no. 6227, 293). In the year of construction

completion, the Municipal Water and Sewage Plant was

established (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6180). At that time,

Toruń had over 27,000 inhabitants (Zielińska 2019, 40),

and Stare Bielany supplied it with water within its then ad-

ministrative borders, which did not include Podgórz (then

a separate city) or Mokre (at that time a village with subur-

ban functions), which had had their own pumping stations

since 1904. Both plants were built together with gasworks

and were powered by gas engines (Szczuczko, Wieczor-

kiewicz 1982)

In internal letters and specialist opinions from the turn

of the 1

and 2

quarter of the 20

century, it was estimat-

ed that the average daily water consumption per person in

Toruń in the early 1990s was 40 litres. Interestingly, after

the waterworks were launched, it was supposed to be 170

litres, but after the introduction of water meters in 1894,

it dropped again to 41 litres per day. Any system leaks or

other faults could also be signicant at this initial stage of

use. In the following years, however, there was an obvious

gradual increase in consumption, which almost doubled in

1918: 79 litres (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6212).

The Bielany waterworks draw water from a layer of

diluvial sands of small thickness (from a few to a dozen

or so meters). The amount of water owing through them

is relatively small and varies greatly depending on the

amount and frequency of rainfall. This geological struc-

ture often caused water problems in Toruń (APT, AmT D,

ref. 1648, 9). An additional unfavourable factor was the

progressively decreasing level of the groundwater table,

which, among other things, forced the construction of fur-

ther wells for Stare Bielany at the beginning of the 20

century

. All this, in addition to the constant population

growth intensied by the presence of the army stationed in

Toruń (especially numerous during World War I), result-

ed in water shortages – the subject was considered urgent

In the late 1920s, a third pump was purchased – an electric one

[see: (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6252)].

See also, among others: (Akta miasta Podgórza…, ref. no 773,

774, 775; APT, Dokumentacja techniczna…, ref. no. 2807; APT, Doku-

mentacja techniczna…, ref. no. 3229).

Initially, the “Barbarka” intake was built with four wells, but too

little water was extracted which forced the construction of another intake

and more wells. In 1927 the station was already operating at 20 wells

(APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6212; APT, AmT D, ref. no. 3299).

14 Daria Jagiełło

both in internal ocial and plant correspondence

, as well

as in the local press

(APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5976, 61).

Construction

The minutes of the meeting of the Water Supply Deputa-

tion of the City Council on 8 December, 1915 indicated that

the existing intakes were insucient to meet the demand

for water, so a decision was made to build a new station

for Toruń operating on its own wells (APT, AmT C,

ref.

no. 5990, 69)

According to plans based on drilling analyses conduct-

ed by Prof. Konrad Keilhack from the Geological Institute

in Berlin, nine wells were planned to to be built to guar-

antee a daily water supply of at least 6,000 m

, with the

demand at that time being 3,000 m

(APT, AmT C, ref.

no. 19687, 2; APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990, 8–10, 66–74).

The estimated cost of the investment was 160,000 marks,

of which 50,000 was covered by the city reserve fund. The

remaining 110,000 marks was a loan from the Municipal

Insurance Company (APT, AmT C, ref. no. 19687, 2, 4–6;

APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990, 27).

The station was located less than a kilometre south-west

of Stare Bielany. Construction began in 1916 and was com-

pleted in May 1917. It was headed by city councillor Karl

Walter. Councillor Klingendorf was responsible for coop-

eration with companies supplying machines and devices

(APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990, 79). The work was carried

out by Toruń workshops: M. Bartel, P. Borkowski, O. Bart-

lewski, J. Freder, F. Konkolewski, E. Pidun, G. Soppart,

R. Lod ke, E. Preuss (APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5976, 61).

In November 1916, Stare Bielany produced only 1,300 m

water,

which was partly explained by design aws (pumps located too high

above the water level) (APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990, 1; Der neue Thorn-

er… 1917; APT, AmT D, ref. no. 3220a).

The water shortages in 1916 were caused by the fact that a peri-

od of severe drought coincided with a period of increased consumption

by war hospitals and a large garrison (Der neue Thorner… 1917). In the

pages of Gazeta Toruńska from 1915, the Municipal Oce called for

careful handling of water (Toruń i okolica 1915, 3).

The possible expansion of the existing intakes was assessed as

impractical owing to the probable adverse impact on their eciency

(APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990, 69).

Despite the initial plans, seven brick wells

with a di-

ameter of 2 m each were built, located to the north and

south of the plant, at intervals of 95 m, with an average

depth of approximately 12 m (owing to hydrological con-

ditions and terrain topography, contrary to expectations,

the northern wells yielded the most water, the southern

ones – surprisingly little). Water was drawn from them

using a siphon with a diameter of 150–300 mm and deliv-

ered to the lowest collection well (the eighth) with a depth

of 7.95 m, located in the machine room (APT, AmT D,

ref. no. 6212; Der neue Thorner… 1917).

The machine room was equipped with two high-pres-

sure centrifugal pumps operated by 380 V, 50 HP three-

phase motors

supplied, like almost the entire machinery

from 1916, by Maei-Schwartzkop-Werke GmbH based

in Berlin (APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990, 231) (Fig. 5). The

station’s equipment included, among other items, a vacu-

um pump, a three-phase current reducing transformer with

a voltage of 6,000–380 V and an electrical switchboard

(APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990, 192–198, 234, 236).

The water obtained was of good quality and did not

require treatment (Der neue Thorner… 1917)

. It was

pumped directly from the collection well into the city net-

work, and any surplus was directed to the tank in the water

tower in Stare Bielany (APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990, 77). In

theory, the capacity of the pumps at the Nowe Bielany sta-

tion made independent supply of water to the city possible

(Der neue Thorner… 1917)

The station was connected directly by telephone to the

Stare Bielany water tower: its employee communicated

In later materials, eight wells and one collective well most often

appeared.

he motors (Dr. type) were redesigned at the order stage at the

request of the Toruń plant from 220 V to 380 V, which was overlooked

by the contractor who, after delivery and verication, was forced to con-

vert them at his own expense and with compensation to versions with the

appropriate parameters (APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990, 286). Pumps: Zentri-

fugalpumpe Type LX, 3 stug, vacuum pump Vacum (APT, AmT D,

ref.

no. 1648, 10; APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990, 318).

The composition of water is presented, among others, in the de-

scription of Toruń intakes from 1927 (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6212).

Water was measured at the station with a Ventury water meter

(APT, AmT D, ref. no. 1648, 10).

Fig. 5. Excerpt from the technical

specification sheet of

the Dr. type motor

(source: APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990)

Il. 5. Fragment karty specyfikacji

technicznej silnika typu Dr.

(źródło: APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990)

History of Toruń’s New Bielany pump station (1916–1917) in the light of archival records 15

the stoppage or resumption of pumping (the area of the

main station could have been ooded if too much water

had been pumped into the water supply network)

(APT,

AmT D, ref. no. 6183). The complex was also connected

to the sewage system, and the machine room had a heating

system that protected the pumps from freezing (Der neue

Thorner… 1917).

The machine room building was built on the basis of

a design from October 1916 (drawings from March of that

year included a dierent shape of the staircase and size

of window openings). Unfortunately, the design of the

basement where the pumps were placed has not been pre-

served. The entrance to the tower was located on the axis

of the southern wall. On the axis of the northern wall, how-

ever, extended steel stairs leading to the lower level of the

machine hall were located (Fig. 6). The passage from the

ground oor antechamber to the pump hall was preceded

by a shallow vestibule. The tower’s vertical communica-

tion was placed at the western wall (straight concrete stairs

with a grate impressed in the tread

). A toilet was planned

under the rst full ight of stairs (the tower still has the

original steel door with remnants of the “vacant”/“occu-

pied” sign). The location of the switchboard is marked

in the south-eastern corner of the rst oor of the tower

(Schaltschrank). Drawings of the above-ground oors

document the building in an almost unchanged form today

(Fig. 7). They are not signed with any name (APT, AmT D,

ref. no. 6226, 104–106).

The design documentation for the single-family house

for the machine operator built as part of the complex has

not been preserved. It is known that it was occupied in

December 1917 by the machinist Hohlfeldt, former man-

ager of the Mokre pumping station (closed on 21 May

1916

). At that stage, only minor work remained to be

done, such as fencing, levelling the ground, and planting.

The house (without garden) cost over 10,000 marks (Der

neue Thorner… 1917). In 1918 a stable building was erect-

ed. It was noted that thus […] the accommodation of the

machine operator is now complete (APT, AmT D, ref. no.

6240). Almost everything went according to plan except

for one thing: in the autumn, wild rabbits ran rampant in

the complex and caused a lot of damage to the new plant-

ings – a large part of Hohlfeld’s garden was destroyed, so

an urgent reduction in the number of rabbits was ordered

(APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6226, 69).

The station was opened at the end of August 1917 and

was extensively reported in the Toruń daily Die Presse

from September 2, however, it was noted that the celebra-

The importance of the connection is conrmed by internal reg-

ulations requiring, among other things, constant control of its quality

and synchronization of the clocks in both stations (APT, AmT D, ref.

3220a). In Księga adresowa miasta Torunia wraz z Podgórzem i powia-

tem Toruń-Wieś (1923) the Nowe Bielany waterworks station was listed

as number 1715.

It was intended to prevent slipping, similar to the pea-grain tex-

ture of the tiles on the ground oor of the tower and in the pump hall.

As can be seen from press reports, among others, this was due

to high operating costs related to the high iron content, rising gas prices,

and falling eciency of the station (Der neue Thorner… 1917; APT,

AmT D, ref. no. 6240).

Fig. 6. Toruń – the former Nowe Bielany pumping station:

stairs leading from the pump hall

to the ground floor of the machine room building

(photo by D. Jagiełło, 2024)

Il. 6. Toruń – dawna stacja pomp Nowe Bielany:

schody prowadzące z hali pomp

na parter budynku budynku maszynowni

(fot. D. Jagiełło, 2024)

tions were quite modest, with only a few representatives

of the City Council present. The complex itself, owing

to the inevitable comparison to nearby Stare Bielany and

its 30-meter water tower towering over the surroundings,

was characterized as […] little more than a delicate Chi-

nese-style tower (Der neue Thorner… 1917)

In the article about the opening of the station, it was

poetically compared to a living organism whose work is

almost invisible (it takes place beneath the skin) and could

be carried out continuously, without human intervention,

until old age. The only obstacle is that stopping and resum-

ing pumping does not happen automatically. This obser-

vation was accompanied by the opinion that the operator

working there […] does not have much to do at the station

(Der neue Thorner… 1917).

The construction costs of Nowe Bielany amounted to

169,000 marks and exceeded the planned budget by only

9,000 (mainly owing to ination), and Stare Bielany, also

compared artistically, cost 1.3 million marks (Der neue

Thorner… 1917; APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6240).

The actual height of the tower is approximately 40.5 m (from

ground level to the top of the roof).

16 Daria Jagiełło

As highlighted in Die Presse, Walter […] managed to

complete the construction in a short time despite the hard-

ships of war, taking care to obtain the most suitable ma-

chines. His name will always be associated with the Nowe

Bielany waterworks (Der neue Thorner… 1917).

The interwar period

In the water supply system, the basic operation was to

be at Stare Bielany, and when water stopped owing to the

underground reservoir through the gravity pipeline, it was

assumed that Nowe Bielany would be launched, which

proved to be very successful in the rst years of operation

(APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6212). In 1918, the operation of the

station was reported as excellent and fully meeting the de-

mand for water, although the main station was periodically

closed (annual consumption of the main station: 866 073

, the Nowe Bielany station: 745 405 m

) (APT, AmT D,

ref. no. 6240).

Despite the construction of a new intake, water short-

ages were still felt at times. In 1919 this was caused by

problems with coal shortages and the basic water level

continued to fall. From June 13 to November 1 it was de -

livered only between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. The situation was

saved by the withdrawal of the army, the closure of mili-

tary hospitals, and the emigration of many families (APT,

AmT D, ref. no. 6240). After November 1, earlier water

supply hours were restored. At that time, a two-shift sys-

tem operated at both stations: Nowe Bielany worked from

8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (1

shift) and from 9:00 p.m. to

5:00 a.m. (2

shift). On Sundays and public holidays

there was a continuous 12-hour shift (APT, AmT D, ref.

no. 6239, 137–138). In 1919, the main station produced

690,119 m

, and Nowe Bielany: 741 123 m

of water (APT,

AmT D, ref. no. 6240). In 1920, Toruń had 37,000 inhabi-

tants (APT, AmT C, ref. no. 5990, 45), and in 1932 58,000

(APT, AmT D, ref. no. 1648, 9).

The mechanical parts of the Nowe Bielany pumps wore

out quickly (this was one of the explanations for their de-

creasing eciency: the amount of pumped water dropped

from 61,813 m

in 1920, 32,652 m

in 1921, 36,366 m

in 1922, and 7,954 m

in 1923; Wykaz statystyczny…

1924). According to the data from the administrative year

1931/1932, the pump eciency was estimated at 0.47%

compared to 1918 (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 1648, 10).

However, machine wear and tear was not the primary

problem. Nowe Bielany was expensive to maintain owing

to high energy prices. Owing to cost savings, the station

was closed in March and June 1923, April and May, August,

and then from October to December 1926 (APT, AmT D,

ref. no. 6241; APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6228). That

situation

repeated itself several times. According to the data for the

years 1928–1930, the cost of 1 m

of water pumped out

in Stare Bielany was 2 groszes, in Nowe Bielany – 9 gro-

szes, and in 1930 as much as 12 groszes (APT, AmT D,

ref. no. 6212). More importantly, the intake the station was

Fig. 7. Toruń – the former Nowe Bielany pumping station: plan of the machine room building (ground floor);

original scale 1:20 (October 1916)

(source: APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6226)

Il. 7. Toruń – dawna stacja pomp Nowe Bielany: rzut budynku maszynowni (parter);

skala oryginału 1:20 (październik 1916)

(źródło: APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6226)

History of Toruń’s New Bielany pump station (1916–1917) in the light of archival records 17

operating on was estimated to be depleted within 24 hours

(according to sta)

. In later assessments, Keilhack was

even accused of making a mistake in assessing its quali-

ty, as a result of which Nowe Bielany, although classically

furnished in terms of equipment, did not provide […] even

approximate expected results. In 1927 the plant was de-

scribed as […] operated sporadically

The waterworks did not have a good press either. In Jan-

uary 1928, a mocking article appeared in Bydgoszcz news-

paper “Toruń-les-Bains” on the quality of Toruń water,

which praised the health properties of the city’s mud baths

([…] recommended in severe cases of atherosclerosis,

brain softening, and xenophobia). This medicinal sludge

of questionable quality was supposed to ow through the

city pipes at least once a month (Toruń-les-Bains… 1928).

In 1930, in Nowe Bielany, it was planned to deepen the

three southern wells by 2 m, which was to increase their

eciency (it was estimated that one well would take up to

3 weeks of work and the maximum cost would be 458.32

zlotys) (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6212). The problem of wa-

ter shortages and the poor assessment of the water supply

network, which was growing in a chaotic manner and was

not adapted to further expansion, were constantly recurring

(APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6213, 1).

In his opinion, Krajewski drew attention to possible

problems related to the electric motor. He wrote: […]

when Germany was preparing for war, the City was se-

cretly advised in 1911 and 1912, owing to the probable

Engineer Krajewski, the author of the 1927 report on the Toruń

waterworks, called on the authorities, among other things, to examine

the actual condition and operational capabilities of Nowe Bielany (APT,

AmT D, ref. no. 6212).

According to Krajewski, Keilhack’s advice exposed the city to

signicant costs, with absolutely no benet (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6212,

APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6252).

expected longer siege, internal combustion engines, for

which fuel can be easily stored in large quantities, the

electric drive was strongly discouraged [sic!] and so were

power plant cables (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6212). During

the construction of Nowe Bielany, such fears seemed un-

founded (a weakened Russia, a strong Germany, and Toruń

no longer being a border fortress). After World War I, the

political conditions changed radically (APT, AmT D, ref.

no. 6212) (Fig. 8).

The wartime atmosphere thickened in the following

years. This can be seen in the preserved documentation

from that period – it consists of numerous circulars and

internal correspondence, which draw attention to the

need for reliable preparation of anti-aircraft and anti-gas

defence in peacetime, including determining the person-

nel of individual teams and proper maintenance of their

Anti-aircraft Defence and Gas Defence equipment and

clothing

, the requirements to supply the plant with a de-

tector or tube radio with its own power source, and to have

spare parts of machines, apparatus and devices (1937)

(APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6183)

. Additional activities were

to include, among others:

3. Masking of terrain, buildings, roads, water towers,

tanks, etc. on the factory premises by:

a) appropriate planting of trees in the area (pines, rs,

poplars, etc.),

Equipment such as breathing apparatus, anemometers, and hand

sprayers. The Anti-aircraft Defence and Gas Defence organization con-

sisted of, among others, the alarm service, messengers, sanitary, re and

disinfection services, and included large plants – in the case of the Toruń

waterworks, these were the sewage treatment plants in Rybaki and Stare

Bielany. Nowe Bielany was subordinated to Klemens Lewandowski,

commander of the Anti-aircraft Defence and Gas Defence main station

(APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6183).

The expense was to be covered from the account intended for

well maintenance (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6183).

Fig. 8. Toruń – aerial photo

with the Nowe Bielany pumping

station visible (1933)

(source: APT, AmT D,

ref. no. 1648)

Il. 8. Toruń – zdjęcie lotnicze

z widoczną stacją pomp

Nowe Bielany (1933)

(źródło: APT, AmT D,

ref. no. 1648)

18 Daria Jagiełło

b) protective painting or its preparation /with splashes

of background and surrounding colours/ (APT AmT D,

ref. no. 6183).

In a letter dated April 1939, the director of the Municipal

Water and Sewage Works, Orłowski, asked for the consent

of the District Oce for the guards of waterworks plants

(Stare and Nowe Bielany and Podgórz) to carry short re-

arms. Such a permit for a rearm with seven rounds was is-

sued to Nowe Bielany in May (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6183).

The preserved documentation shows that the rst op-

erator, Hohlfeldt, was replaced by semi-skilled operator

Józef Brzozowski, and after his dismissal in 1921, this

function was taken over by Albin Kołaczyński

. In the

same year, a storm tore o the roof tiles of a residential

building (12 m

) and broke 10 windows (APT, AmT D,

ref. no. 6226, 74). In 1935, the operator’s house, which

was renovated (including work on the roof truss, plaster-

ing, painting, removing the linoleum), was inhabited by

Antoni Grabowski (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 1648, 148–149).

After 1939

There is no information about any signicant transfor-

mations or changes in the machine room building after

the war. According to the 1959 inventory, the station was

equipped with two centrifugal pumps Maei-Szchwarz-

kop-Werke GmbH

(Maei-Schwartzkop-Werke GmbH)

and the vertical piston pump “Vakum” by ALG Dechne

Halle O.S.

(“Vacum”, A.L.G. Dehne Maschinenfabrik)

with electric drive, centrifugal pump

(made by A. Bo-

rung) with electric drive, switchboard

, central heating

furnace

, high-voltage full-oil switch with manual drive,

two current transformers: oil transformer and dry-type

oil transformer (APT, Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo…, ref.

no. 143, 15).

Henryk Zimny’s design for a chlorination plant locat-

ed in the former fuel room, at the pump hall level, at the

southern end of the storey, comes from 1967 (Zimny 1967)

(Fig. 9). After 1980, the original slate roong was replaced

with sheet metal (roofs) and roof tiles (wall cladding of

the top oor of the tower) (Szczuczko, Wieczorkiewicz

1982). The original solution was restored during adapta-

tion work.

In later years, Kołaczyński was moved to the waterworks’ ser-

vice apartment at 16 Szosa Chełmińska (?) (APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6180;

APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6183; APT, AmT D, ref. no. 6240).

Technical specications: 1) pump serial number 1321, N 1450,

Q 20000l/min, pumping height 65 m, outlet diameter 125 mm, motor

type: Dr. 50/1500, serial number 13176; 2) pump serial number: 1322,

pumping height 60 m, motor serial no. 13177; other parameters as above

(APT, Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo…, ref. no. 143, 5, 7). The data is con-

sistent with the order from 1916 [see extensive correspondence (APT,

AmT C, ref. no. 5990)].

Pump serial number 2177, motor type N 1350, serial number

30913 (APT, Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo…, ref. no. 143, 11).

Pump type Na 10-26, serial number 4939, motor type 2850, se-

rial number 1232 (APT, Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo…, ref. no. 143, 3).

Serial number 54273 (APT, Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo…, ref.

no. 143, 9).

Specication – type RV III Ż(or Z)R, serial number 10648 (APT,

Miej skie Przedsiębiorstwo…, ref. no. 143, 17).

Much greater changes took place within the residential

building. In 1949, a reconstruction project was submitted

for approval, which envisaged the addition of a vestibule

to the western gable wall, providing direct access to the

stairs leading to the attic, and partial reconstruction of

the ground oor. In the attic there is a rectangular living

room (?). The changes on the ground oor were limited to

the north-western part of the building (Fig. 10). The draw-

ings are signed with the name M. Lewandowski. The ac-

ceptance of the work carried out was made on November

24, 1950. The then address of the pumping station complex

was Projektowana Street 106 (APT, AmT G, ref. no. 1227,

1–14). In later years, the attic was fully adapted: a sepa-

rate apartment with a separate entrance was created there.

Extensions were introduced in the roof areas in order to

enlarge the interiors and provide more light; it is also pos-

sible that the eastern gable was pierced at that time and one

large window was placed in place of a pair of narrow win-

dows (as in the western elevation). Two families lived in

the building for the following years (Teczka oso bowa…).

The utility building was also expanded and extended to-

wards the south. On the basis of historic photos and plans,

it can be concluded that this must have happened after

1949 and before 1980 (Szczuczko, Wieczorkiewicz 1982;

APT, AmT G, ref. no. 1227). Before the adaptation, a seam

was still visible on the façade where part of the longitudi-

nal wall had been added

Both in earlier aerial photos from the 1930s and in the

site plan of 1949, the area of the plot on which the complex

was located was not divided by a fence into the northern

part (residential and utility buildings with a garden) and

the southern part (machine room building). The division

in force in later years was introduced before 1980 (APT,

AmT G, ref. no. 1227) (Szczuczko, Wieczorkiewicz 1982,

Fig. 90). During the adaptation, the original solution was

restored.

In the years 1952–1953 the intake wells were modern-

ized (lters were replaced). The development of municipal

housing in their immediate vicinity (including the planned

construction of a university campus), the construction of an

intake in Mała Nieszawka and the impossibility of provid-

ing protection zones were (according to a study from 1966)

the main reasons for the planned disconnection of Nowe

Bielany from the city network (Wilczyńska 1966, 2–3). In

the years 1973–1974 four replacement wells were drilled

(at that time the intake consisted of a total of 12 wells);

the old ones served as piezometers (Zimny 1967, 2).

In 1983 the intake was decommissioned. Some of the

wells belonging to the complex served as emergency in-

takes, which could be connected to the city network at any

time in the event of failure of other municipal intakes

. In

The building was marked with a dierent colour in the 1949

documentation (APT, AmT G, ref. no. 1227). Perhaps the creation of

an additional living space in the attic was connected with the expansion

of the building and the allocation of additional utility rooms to the new

tenant. Another possibility is that the facility was built in 1949, e.g., on

the site of a former stable, which was not characterized in any way in the

archives, and it was expanded in later years.

According to the documentation, in 1990, four of the eight wells

were inactive [see, among others: (Karta rejestracyjna…)].

History of Toruń’s New Bielany pump station (1916–1917) in the light of archival records 19

2002, the Nowe Bielany intake was the fth largest in terms

of water production in cubic metres per day in Toruń (ca-

pacity and production: 1680 m

). Its quality was still within

the norm for drinking water, and the wells were still marked

as emergency intakes (Świerszcz-Prusicka 2005, 46). The

last resident of the building at today’s 16 Ol szew skiego

Street (an employee of Toruńskie Wodociągi Sp. z o.o.)

left it in 2020 (Teczka osobowa…).

Summary

Even though the Nowe Bielany station operated for

many years, supplying water to Toruń, it never attracted

much interest (either from researchers or the city residents

themselves). Hidden in a forest on the university campus,

it slowly fell into oblivion. This situation has changed only

recently thanks to the adaptation of its buildings (initially

the plans included the possibility of demolishing the com-

plex, which was opposed by the Municipal Conservator of

Monuments).

On the basis of the analysis of archival documentation,

historic iconography, and excerpts from texts published in

the local press, it was possible not only to trace the history

of the station from the moment of its construction to its

decommissioning, but also to build a broader context, i.e.,

to indicate its role in the city’s water supply system and to

show the realities of the times when it was in operation.

This approach to the topic makes it possible for us to both

get to know the facility itself and to understand better its

functioning. The station, which was built in 1916–1917,

turned out to be, on the one hand, a facility built, despite

external adversities, in an ecient and well-thought-out

manner – a station with a (projected) signicant role for

the ecient operation of the waterworks, and on the other

hand, a quickly realized disappointment, perhaps resulting

from the overestimated capacity of the intake, or perhaps

the geology of the terrain, or an unfortunate type of drive

for the conditions at that time, or perhaps something com-

pletely dierent. It is signicant that after the 1930s, a new

location was sought for another urban intake.

Nowe Bielany, however, still remains a potential re-

search subject owing to the quite unusual architecture of

the station at the time of its construction (not discussed in

more detail in this text), as well as the need for a more de-

tailed analysis of the plant’s operation from the technolog-

ical perspective, and relating the obtained results to other

facilities with a similar role.

Translated by

Edward Maliszewski

Fig. 9. Toruń – the former Nowe Bielany pumping station:

machine room, in the lower left corner the casing of the collecting

well, in the background the passage to the chlorination plant

(photo by D. Jagiełło, 2024)

Il. 9. Toruń – dawna stacja pomp Nowe Bielany:

maszynownia, w lewym dolnym rogu

obudowa studni zbiorczej,

na dalszym planie przejście do chlorowni

(fot. D. Jagiełło, 2024)

Fig. 10. Toruń – residential building in the complex

of the former Nowe Bielany pumping station,

reconstruction design: building plan (ground floor);

original scale 1:50 (1949)

(source: APT, AmT G, ref. no. 1227)

Il. 10. Toruń – budynek mieszkalny

w zespole dawnej stacji pomp Nowe Bielany,

projekt przebudowy: rzut budynku (parter);

skala oryginału 1:50 (1949)

(źródło: APT, AmT G, ref. no. 1227)

20 Daria Jagiełło

Streszczenie

Historia niewielkiego zespołu stacji pomp Nowe Bielany (1916–1917) w świetle źródeł archiwalnych

W latach 2022–2023 przeprowadzona została adaptacja zespołu jednej z dawnych toruńskich stacji pomp – tzw. Nowych Bielan (zakończenie jej

budowy datowane jest na 1917). Zakład przez wiele lat wspomagał pobliską stację główną Stare Bielany w zaopatrywaniu miasta w wodę. W latach

80. XX w. został wyłączony z eksploatacji i przez kolejne pozostawał nieużytkowany. Przygotowania związane z projektem adaptacji uświadomiły,

że historia stacji jest słabo rozpoznana, a obiekt nie był dotychczas przedmiotem badań.

W artykule przedstawiono interesującą historię budowy i działania nowobielańskiego zakładu. Podano także powody, które ostatecznie zadecy-

dowały o jego zamknięciu. Zaprezentowano okoliczności budowy, wyposażenie, architekturę, a także realia czasów, w których pracowała, równo-

cześnie uwypuklono znaczenie badań archiwalnych dla lepszego rozpoznania obiektu. Tekst przygotowano głównie na podstawie wyników szeroko

zakrojonej kwerendy archiwalnej, niekiedy dokonując konfrontacji z wynikami analizy istniejącego obiektu (przed pracami adaptacyjnymi i po tych

pracach).

Nowe Bielany, jak wynika z materiałów, do których udało się dotrzeć, były zakładem budowanym sprawnie i z dużą dbałością (potwierdza to

również zachowana korespondencja). W związku z powracającymi problemami niedoborów wody w Toruniu pokładano w ich budowie duże na-

dzieje. Stacja niestety nie sprostała tym oczekiwaniom (bardzo wysokie koszty produkcji, szybko spadająca wydajność pomp oraz zbyt mało wody

w studniach), dlatego już w latach 30. XX w. rozpoczęto poszukiwania lokalizacji dla nowego ujęcia.

Mimo że przedstawiona historia nie jest historią sukcesu, zespół stacji pomp Nowe Bielany okazał się interesującym i cennym świadkiem rozwo-

ju infrastruktury wodociągowo-kanalizacyjnej w Toruniu.

Słowa kluczowe: wodociągi, Toruń, dziedzictwo techniki, dzieje, przemysł w XX w.

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Acknowledgements

The materials used in the article were mostly obtained during archival

research conducted as part of the MINIATURA 7 grant: “Historic water

supply and sewage infrastructure of larger Polish cities on the example of

Toruń […] – archival query” and nanced by the National Science Centre

(2023/07/X/HS2/01129). Contemporary photos and characteristics come

from the documentation prepared as part of the Scholarship of the Mini-

ster of Culture and National Heritage: “Toruń’s water and sewage infra-

structure […] – common heritage” (88/2024).