Blast-Furnace Charging Tower of the Waleska Ironworks in Palowice

The charging tower (gichtowa) in Palowice is a Classicist brick tower in a forest, the only remnant of the Waleska ironworks. It is 15 m high and has four storeys.

An ironworks of which only this remains

The tower was built in the 19th century; sources give different dates: 1830, 1835 or the second half of the century. It belonged to the Waleska ironworks, owned by Franz von Winckler, and the name was given in honour of his daughter Valeska von Tiele-Winckler. The ironworks stood in the hamlet of Łańcuch, which no longer exists, in the forest area called Gichta. It ceased operating in 1855 or in the 1870s, and the remaining buildings were demolished probably at the beginning of the 20th century.

Construction

The tower served for hoisting the charge for two charcoal-fired blast furnaces: bog ore with charcoal and fluxes was raised by a hand-operated hoist. It has a rectangular plan measuring about 9.5 by 6 m, walls about 70 and 98 cm thick, slightly inclined inwards, and the storeys are separated by cornices. The windows and entrances are closed with a full round arch. The interior fittings have not survived.

Fate after the ironworks closed

In the 1960s the structure was in ruins. In 1974 it was covered with a roof of roofing felt and the openings were bricked up. In 1989 a staircase was built, because the tower was planned to be adapted as overnight accommodation. The tower is entered in the heritage register, belongs to the State Forests and remains unused.

Practical information

• The tower stands in a forest in Palowice, in Czerwionka-Leszczyny municipality.
• The openings are bricked up and the rules of access are not given; it is viewed from the outside.
• In the area is the manor house in Palowice.