Tannery remains undergo structural safety works

The building of the abandoned 19th-century tannery in Warsaw, Poland, has been surrounded by scaffolding as part of maintenance works aimed at strengthening the structural safety.

Scaffolding surrounding the tannery (by Mateusz Szmelter)

The state of the abandoned tannery of a former 19th century Temler and Szwede Company was worsening over decades. The building and its ground belongs to the city and was gradually being devastated and degraded.  The city, in co-operation with the local heritage office scheduled maintenance works that will last for three months, over which some of the pipes, the gutters, drains, metalworks, and ceiling supports will be strengthened or replaced.

The 19th century tannery (by Mateusz Szmelter)

The building housed the largest tannery within the 19th-century Kingdom of Poland. The company that run it was established by Jan Gotfryd Temler, and was later run by his sons, Karol and Aleksander. In 1858 engineer Ludwik Szwede joined the company. In the 1870s it was the largest tannery within the Polish puppet state occupied by Imperial Russia. Before World War I it used to produce among others plantar hides, belts, calf leather, and transmission belts for machines. The building was partially destroyed in 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising, but it was re-opened after World War II and nationalised. The grounds served the Warszawskie Zakłady Garbarskie (Warsaw Tanneries) and later as a vehicle depot. In the last years the grounds and buildings were abandoned.

(after TVN Warszawa & Mateusz Szmelter)

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