“The annals of glassworks in Krosno is practically 100 years old!
The annals of Krosno City of Glass began in 1923, each time a glassworks was built and opened within the limits of the then city. The name was officially fond of the town on June 2, 2012 with the opening of the Glass Heritage Centre there. The President of Krosno was given 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 sense was born again. New life, and therefore new opportunities and hopes, but in addition tradition and an obliging heritage cultivating the glass history of the region.
And this story will become 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 very first years of independence, Krosno, with a population of about 6,000, faced many problems. Lack of industry and thus not enough work, modest, partly rural buildings were the everyday reality of these 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 having its seat in Krakow stumbled on Krosno buying place to finalize the project. The option fell on the estate of Cecylia Kaczkowska, née Potocka. In her palace the last talks of the task took place and the deed of purchase of a area of the manor land was signed. GHC Krosno 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 to be assembled. The initial steelworkers came from distant places: the Borderlands (Żółkwi near Lviv), Silesia, and Romania. Already in January 1924 the plant was opened. Production started and the very first shipments of finished products started to leave the plant. Many families have gained a steady source of income. Of the approximately 1,200 people employed at the plant, most worked in the main hall, where glass was melted in furnaces and glassworkers made glass objects by hand.
The steelworks has blended into the urban landscape. It is becoming area 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. Among the 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 another plants, was given 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 removing machines, products, destroying raw materials and infrastructure. The factory was burning down prior to the eyes of the individuals of Krosno, but at once freedom was coming. The smelter, which had been burning for two days, was almost completely destroyed. The ruins, protruding into the sky, attracted the worried citizens of the city. On September 11, 1944 the final act of the war drama took place. Soviet troops entered Krosno. They were the 241st Infantry Division, the 140th Division of the 38th AR of the Byelorussian Front, and the 12th Armored Brigade. Along together came the socialist order.
PRL (1944-1989)
Already 9 days after the liberation, at a meeting of 40 steelworkers, it had been chose to rebuild the plant. Work began immediately. The repair and construction brigade contained 89 people. To be able to obtain funds, salvaged glass products were sold, state subsidies and prepayments from future contractors were used. In a very difficult situation, since 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 looking for materials. The roof truss from among the hangars was in relatively good condition. On her behalf hands she was carried to the steelworks, where she was used to construct a fresh roof for the hall.
Production resumed on January 20, 1945. In those days the glassworks had just one glass bath with 6 workshops, a drawing shop (for de-stressing glass) and several grinding stands. The initial products were No. 8. oil lamp slides, blown in a mold of 2. One 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 sole truck they’d was used to send products on further routes. In the area, transportation was by horse-drawn carts.
Steelworks employees actively participated in the life span of the town and the region. They supported the rebuilding of the Krosno senior school making use of their extra production, they went to help with the harvest and digging. Relating with the policy of that time period, the nearby villages were visited by company speakers and artistic groups.
Modernization, construction and adaptation works were constantly carried out. The increase in production and thus employment required new investments. In 1945 the plant had 267 employees and produced 329 tons 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. Annually the production was increased. Awaiting her were households, factories, hospitals and hotels destroyed by the conflagration of war. In 1953, 1151 tons 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 on the planet and exports began. The initial countries on the list of Krosno glass recipients were England, Brazil and Canada. The equipment park was constantly modernised. The initial “”Sloan”” automatic glass making machines and “”Pall-Mall”” grinders made the job easier and increased production. The former Kaczkowski palace was developed and adapted to the needs of the plant’s staff. It housed a common room, a library, a medical and dental clinic and a kindergarten.
In 1951 the very first two company housing blocks were placed into use. In 1957 another. The great neighborly atmosphere fostered togetherness. Children playing together, the ice rink, and residents’meetings were the fact of these 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 location of 20 hectares, and the very first 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. Per 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 alongside HST “”Polanka””. The new plant was to create household glassware sought after on domestic and foreign markets.
On September 1, 1959, the company’s Basic Glass School was inaugurated. Its establishment was an answer 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 fresh 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 a unique 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 company quickly stumbled on the forefront among Polish glass manufacturers. Official visits were paid by representatives of the best party and state authorities.
On April 1, 1967 the “”Jasło”” Glassworks was incorporated into the Krosno enterprise. This plant, that was exactly the same age since 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 used in stained-glass making was also taken up.
