Muzeum Zagłębia Staropolskiego w Sielpi

Historic rolling mill and puddling works from the 19th century in Sielpia, with a waterwheel and metallurgical machines; the site is currently closed for renovation.

Temporarily closed

Directions

Temporarily closed. The museum is closed to visitors because the historic halls are being renovated. The first stage (roof replacement) has been completed; further work is in preparation.

About the museum

The rolling mill and puddling works complex in Sielpia was built in the 1820s and 1830s on the initiative of Stanisław Staszic and Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki. By 1830 a weir across the Czarna Konecka river, an eight-kilometre water supply canal and the first buildings had been constructed. The works were completed by the Bank Polski, which had the plant running by 1841, together with a settlement of workers' cottages. The factory's greatest pride was an iron waterwheel more than eight metres in diameter, designed by Filip de Girard, which drove the machinery.

The plant operated until 1921. In 1934 the complex was recognised as a monument of engineering art, the first of its kind in Poland, and a museum facility was set up there. During the Second World War the buildings were devastated and the equipment was taken away. After the war the works were repaired, and in 1962 the museum officially resumed operation as the Muzeum Zagłębia Staropolskiego (Museum of the Old Polish Industrial Region), initially as a branch of the Museum of Technology.

The exhibition presents the equipment of the former ironworks: the waterwheel, a 19th-century steam blower, a steam engine from 1858, which is considered the oldest surviving one in Poland, a face lathe and a model of the works. In 2008 students of the Częstochowa University of Technology reconstructed and restarted a puddling furnace.

The site is currently managed by the Końskie municipality. Because of the very poor condition of the roof, the buildings have been closed to visitors. In the first stage of work the roofs of the halls were replaced (completed in autumn 2025); the next stage, covering the renovation of the interiors and the development of the grounds, is in preparation.

Highlights

Iron waterwheel more than eight metres in diameter, designed by Filip de Girard
Steam engine from 1858, the oldest surviving one in Poland
Steam blower and face lathe from the 19th century
Reconstructed puddling furnace
First monument of engineering art in Poland, recognised in 1934