Workshops and education

Since the beginning of the 19th century, the gas industry has been undergoing rapid development in Europe, with gasworks being built in many cities and streets gaining new, more efficient lighting. This process was initiated by William Murdoch, who as early as 1792 first used gas made from coal to light his own home. This invention ushered in the era of modern urban lighting.

Warsaw, then under the influence of the Russian Empire, did not keep up with these developments, however. After the fall of the November Uprising, Tsar Nicholas I institutes martial law in the Kingdom of Poland, and his governor, Ivan Paskevich, introduces severe repression. Fearing acts of sabotage and assassination, he strongly opposes gas installations, considering them a potential source of danger. He thus blocks one of the key directions of the city's technical development.

Only after Paskevich's death in 1856 does the situation begin to change. In the same year, the Warsaw authorities sign an agreement with the German Continental Gas Company of Dessau, which undertakes to build a gas plant on Ludna Street. Before the end of the year, the first gas streetlights light up in the capital of the Kingdom of Poland, symbolizing the beginning of modernity and the city's slow emergence from technical backwardness.

The use of gas in Warsaw has been developing extremely rapidly since the late 19th century. In 1888, a second gasworks was built in Warsaw's Wola district, which was connected to the existing plant in Ludna Street by a pipeline network of more than 5 kilometers. Initially, the plan was to extinguish production in Powisle and move all operations to a modern facility in Wola. However, it soon became apparent that the growing demand for gas required both plants to keep working.

The Wola gas plant develops at a rapid pace, implementing the latest technological advances. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, it becomes one of the first plants in the world to use modern vertical-retort gas furnaces, significantly increasing production efficiency. Soon similar innovations are also introduced at the gas plant on Ludna Street.

Just before the outbreak of World War I, the Warsaw gas plants reach impressive efficiency - the combined daily production of both plants reaches almost 300,000 cubic meters of gas. This is a clear indication of the great importance that these facilities played in the development of the capital's infrastructure and industry.

Both Warsaw gasworks survived World War I without major damage. With its end, Poland regains its independence and Warsaw becomes the capital of a sovereign state. Almost immediately, however, a conflict erupts between the city authorities and the plants' previous owner, the German Continental Gas Company of Dessau. After a four-year period of receivership, the plants are taken over by the state in 1925, which then hands them over to the city. The takeover process is completed in 1929, when the former owner officially relinquishes all rights to the gas plant.

The Wola gas plant enters a new stage of development. Since the mid-1920s, the plant is intensively modernized and its importance steadily grows. It takes over all gas production for Warsaw, leading to the closure of the obsolete and onerous Powisle gas plant in 1930.

In the same year, the Wola plant receives a modern Glover-West furnace, a device characterized by high efficiency and the possibility of continuous production. Significantly, less than half the staff is needed to operate it compared to older furnaces, significantly increasing the plant's efficiency. At the same time, the transmission network is being expanded and the number of individual customers is steadily increasing, making gas one of the key elements of the city's infrastructure.

In September 1939, during German air raids, the Wola gas plant suffers severe damage. The extensive transmission network suffers the greatest losses, significantly limiting the ability to distribute gas throughout Warsaw. After the Germans occupy the city, the plant comes under their control. Despite the destruction, the occupiers decide not to fully rebuild the infrastructure - the demand for gas drastically decreases as a result of their policy of repression and destruction of the civilian population.

The gas plant is recognized as a strategic German facility, which, on the one hand, protects it from complete liquidation, and on the other, gives the Poles employed there some opportunities to act in conspiracy. The plant becomes one of the places where underground activities can function under the cover of official work.

During the Warsaw Uprising, the gas plant, which is out of the control of the insurgents, becomes a temporary shelter for Wola residents fleeing mass executions. When the German authorities demand that the civilian population leave the site, Polish workers manage to convince the occupiers that the presence of Poles is necessary to maintain minimal production capacity - indeed, it is the result of orders from the German economic authorities.

Finally, the gas plant's operations are completely halted on September 22, 1944.

The reconstruction of the Warsaw Gasworks, which was destroyed during the war, proves to be a complex and time-consuming undertaking. The greatest challenge is the reconstruction of the Glover-West furnace, particularly the restoration of its ceramic components, the production of which requires specialized knowledge and access to the appropriate materials. Despite the difficulties, restoring gas supplies to the devastated capital becomes one of the priorities of the city authorities.

Parallel to the work at the gasworks site, extensive repair efforts are being carried out on the transmission network. Thanks to the determination of the employees and state support, the plant achieves full production capacity as early as 1950, which allows it to meet the rapidly growing demand for gas in the rebuilding Warsaw. In response to these needs, in 1959, the gasworks is expanded with an additional furnace, further increasing its production capabilities.

However, in the 1960s, changes begin that will forever alter the nature of Warsaw's gas industry. Natural gas starts to reach the city – a much more efficient and cleaner fuel than the coal gas previously used. The transformation process is gradual but inevitable. In 1970, the gasworks ends the production of coal gas, and the entire city's energy system is adapted to the new raw material.

Changing the energy source, however, requires an enormous logistical effort. A mass modernization of the consumption devices proves necessary – the existing burners are not adapted to work with natural gas, whose physicochemical parameters differ significantly from coal gas. Nevertheless, in a short period of time, the entire city of Warsaw is switched to the new system, marking a milestone in the modernization of the city's energy infrastructure.