The first gasworks on Ludna Street: the history of the plant that changed the city of Warsaw

Publication date: 19.12.2025

In Powiśle, between park alleys and contemporary buildings, there is a place that once lit up the whole of Warsaw. Today seemingly inconspicuous – a few concrete circles and fragments of walls – in the mid-19th century it was the heart of a technological revolution. It was here, on Ludna Street, that the capital's first gas light was lit, forever changing its night-time landscape and the rhythm of its residents' lives.

The first gasworks on Ludna Street: the history of the plant that changed the city of Warsaw

The story of the first gasworks on Ludna Street is a tale of the ambitions of a modern city, the hard work of hundreds of labourers, and the industrial machinery that powered the streets, public institutions, and homes of Warsaw for decades. It is also a story of political and economic disputes, war damage and dramatic events during the occupation and the Warsaw Uprising, when the buildings of the former gasworks became a point of resistance.

Today, the remains of the plant are hidden among greenery and new developments, and their significance is often overlooked by passers-by. And yet it was here that the city's gas-lit night was born – a symbol of Warsaw's entry into the modern era. The foundations on Ludna Street remind us that the history of the city is hidden not only in palaces and monuments, but also in forgotten industrial sites.

The gasworks on Ludna Street was more than just an industrial plant. It was a symbol of change, human effort and faith in progress. Its disappearance shows how easily a city loses the material traces of its own history. If these last relics also disappear, only memory will remain – fleeting and dependent on whether anyone else wants to tell the story.

We invite you to the Warsaw Gasworks Museum, where the industrial past of the capital city is still alive.