History of Krosno Glass City
“The history of glassworks in Krosno is almost 100 years of age!
The history of Krosno City of Glass began in 1923, when a glassworks was built and opened within the limits of the then city. The name was officially given to the city on June 2, 2012 with the opening of the Glass Heritage Centre there. The President of Krosno was presented with symbolic glass keys to the town gates and the act of locating Krosno – the Glass City, engraved on a glass plate, was signed.
Thus, in 2012, after about 650 years since its foundation, Krosno in a feeling came to be again. New life, and therefore new opportunities and hopes, but also tradition and an obliging heritage cultivating the glass history of the region.
And this story will begin when Poland regained its independence.
On November 11, 1918, an armistice between Germany and the Entente states was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne, France. This date effectively ended the First World War. As a result, Poland regained its independence after 123 years of partitions. The united states was devastated, traces of war and years of foreign rule were visible at every turn. Corrective action was quickly taken. Construction works have started. Industrial plants, public buildings, roads and bridges were erected.
In the initial years of independence, Krosno, with a population of approximately 6,000, faced many problems. Lack of industry and thus lack of work art handmade glass , modest, partly rural buildings were the everyday reality of those times. Soon the construction of industrial plants that changed the town began: “”Lnianka””, “”Wudeta”” Rubber Plant and glassworks.
In 1923, talks regarding the planned investment were visiting an end. Representatives of Polskie Huty Szkła Akcyjna with its seat in Krakow came to Krosno buying destination for a finalize the project. The choice fell on the estate of Cecylia Kaczkowska, née Potocka. In her palace the final talks of the procedure took place and the deed of purchase of a part of the manor land was signed. A glass factory was to be built on the site.
Construction work began in exactly the same year. The plant was quickly erected and the crew started initially to be assembled. The initial steelworkers originated in distant places: the Borderlands (Żółkwi near Lviv), Silesia, and Romania. Already in January 1924 the plant was opened. Production started and the initial shipments of finished products started initially to leave the plant. Many families have gained a steady supply of income. Of the approximately 1,200 people employed at the plant, most worked in the primary hall, where glass was melted in furnaces and glassworkers made glass objects by hand.
The steelworks has blended to the urban landscape. It has become part of the lives of its residents, and the production has gained recognition. This is demonstrated by the gold medal received from the Minister of Industry and Trade, Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, at the General National Exhibition in Poznań (1929).
World War II
On September 1, 1939, World War II began with the attack on Poland. One of many Luftwaffe’s strategic targets was the Krosno airfield and the “”Wudeta”” rubber factory. The loom found itself in the warmth of battle. The Germans entered it on September 8, beginning a five-year occupation. The Nazi terror covered the city’s everyday life. The tragic balance of the occupation in the district is 3700 dead.
The steelworks, like the other plants, was presented with a German management, represented by Oskar Happak and Walter Behm. Work suspended for the war effort was quickly resumed. During the war over 600 people worked in the steelworks. Household glass, lighting glass, and even crystals were produced.
For Krosno, the war ended in the fall of 1944. The retreating German troops set fire to the steelworks on 9 September, earlier depriving them of machines, products, destroying raw materials and infrastructure. The factory was burning down ahead of the eyes of the people of Krosno, but at once freedom was coming. The smelter, which have been burning for just two days, was almost completely destroyed. The ruins, protruding to the sky, attracted the worried citizens of the city. On September 11, 1944 the last act of the war drama took place. Soviet troops entered Krosno. These were the 241st Infantry Division, the 140th Division of the 38th AR of the Byelorussian Front, and the 12th Armored Brigade. Along with them came the socialist order.
PRL (1944-1989)
Already 9 days following the liberation, at a meeting of 40 steelworkers, it absolutely was made a decision to rebuild the plant. Work began immediately. The repair and construction brigade contains 89 people. In order to obtain funds, salvaged glass products were sold, state subsidies and prepayments from future contractors were used. In an exceedingly difficult situation, because it was just after the liberation, everything was missing. The people from Krosno, who have been rebuilding the steelworks, went along to the bombed airfield searching for materials. The roof truss from one of many hangars was in relatively good condition. On her hands she was carried to the steelworks, where she was used to construct a new roof for the hall.
Production resumed on January 20, 1945. In those days the glassworks had only 1 glass bath with 6 workshops, a drawing shop (for de-stressing glass) and a few grinding stands. The initial products were No. 8. oil lamp slides, blown in a mold of 2. One such glass cost 1.50 zloty (for comparison, in the autumn of 1945 in Warsaw, one egg cost almost 10 zloty, and the free-market price of a loaf of bread was about 33 zloty). The only real truck they had was used to send products on further routes. In the region, transportation was by horse-drawn carts.
Steelworks employees actively participated in the life of the town and the region. They supported the rebuilding of the Krosno high school using their extra production, they went to help with the harvest and digging. In accordance with the policy of the time, the nearby villages were visited by company speakers and artistic groups.
Modernization, construction and adaptation works were constantly carried out. The escalation in production and thus employment required new investments. In 1945 the plant had 267 employees and produced 329 a lot of products, in 1948 – 360 crew members and 599 tons. The crew was systematically expanded. In 1950 less than 400 people worked in the plant, eight years later it was already 860. The plant was bustling with activity. Each year the production was increased. Awaiting her were households, factories, hospitals and hotels destroyed by the conflagration of war. In 1953, 1151 a lot of products left the plant, five years later it was already 1833 tons. In 1958 a paint shop was opened. In exactly the same year, in January, by virtue of a government decision, circumstances enterprise beneath the name “”Krosno Glassworks”” was established.
In 1953 the smelter became a great success – its products gained recognition in the world and exports began. The initial countries on the set of Krosno glass recipients were England, Brazil and Canada. The device park was constantly modernised. The initial “”Sloan”” automatic glass making machines and “”Pall-Mall”” grinders made the work much simpler and increased production. The former Kaczkowski palace was developed and adapted to the needs of the plant’s staff. It housed a standard room, a library, a medical and dental clinic and a kindergarten.
In 1951 the initial two company housing blocks were placed into use. In 1957 another. The nice neighborly atmosphere fostered togetherness. Children playing together, the ice rink, and residents’meetings were the truth of those years.
Domestic and export production is increasing at a rapid pace. Handmade products were mainly sent abroad, while automatic glassware enjoyed popularity on the Polish market. A further expansion of the plant became necessary. On 1 October 1955, on the expropriated land of Polanka village the construction of technical glassworks – HST “”Polanka”” – was launched. The construction of the Technical Glassworks occupied a place of 20 hectares, and the initial buildings were the barracks and warehouses of the builders. Gradually, proper buildings and the mandatory infrastructure grew up.
In 1959 “”Krosno Glassworks”” already had 1350 employees, and the enlargement of the enterprise was continued by expanding the plant in Polanka. Two new baths for melting glass were placed into operation there and the construction of hall no. 2 began. In 1960 hall no. 1 in HST “”Polanka”” was placed into use. It produced neutral, lead and soda glass tubes. A year later, bath No. 6. for the production of CRT tubes was placed into operation. On September 22nd, 1959, another investment was launched – the construction of a professional glassworks “”KROSNO-II””. The construction took up 7 ha of land close to HST “”Polanka””. The new plant was to create household glassware sought after on domestic and foreign markets.
On September 1, 1959, their Basic Glass School was inaugurated. Its establishment was a reply to the constantly growing demand for qualified metallurgical staff. At once, the extramural Glass Technical School was also launched. Initially, theoretical classes were held in the Textile Technical School building, and practical training in the steel mill. In the following years a new school, dormitory and workshops were placed into use. In its 25 years of existence, 1500 graduates have left the school.
In October 1962 “”KROSNO-II”” was launched. The plant had its own railway siding, a network of internal roads and a fence. Initially, as in the “”KROSNO-I”” factory, the production of household glass was carried out there by hand. The business quickly came to the forefront among Polish glass manufacturers. Official visits were paid by representatives of the highest party and state authorities.
On April 1, 1967 the “”Jasło”” Glassworks was incorporated to the Krosno enterprise. This plant, that has been exactly the same age as the Krosno glassworks, produced tiled window glass and bottles. Following the war, the production was switched to manufacturing bottles for liquor stores, and then coloured glass for signal lamps was added. Following the merger with KHS, the core business became reflector glass. The production of coloured pressed glass found in stained-glass making was also taken up.