Industrial Heritage Trail of Świętokrzyskie Province

Long before industrial Silesia, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth smelted its iron along the rivers of the northern Kielce region. The industrial heritage trail of Świętokrzyskie Province links the remains of this Old Polish Industrial Region: water-powered forges, rolling mills, blast furnaces and museums where historic machines still work. It is a driving route spread between Końskie, Starachowice and Kielce.

Maleniec and Sielpia: water wheels at work

In 1784 Jacek Jezierski, castellan of Łuków, founded a works at Maleniec with a sawmill, wire mill and blast furnace with 11 hammers. In the mid-19th century 15 nail presses were installed to make nails cut from sheet metal, followed by spades and shovels. The machinery was driven by three water wheels and a system of transmission belts. Nail production stopped in 1950, and the works closed 17 years later.

At Sielpia, construction of a rolling mill and puddling works began in 1821 on Stanisław Staszic's initiative. The pride of the local Museum of the Old Polish Industrial Region is a water turbine designed by Philippe de Girard, and its most valuable exhibits include a steam engine from 1858 – according to the regional guide, the oldest in Poland. During the war the occupiers carried off 72 wagonloads of steel and equipment.

Starachowice, Samsonów, Stara Kuźnica

• Starachowice – the Jan Pazdur Museum of Nature and Technology ("Ekomuzeum"), with a blast furnace from 1899 that worked until 19 March 1968 and a huge steam engine brought from the 1889 Paris industrial exhibition.
• Samsonów – the ruins of the "Józef" ironworks. The furnace was fired in 1823, though it bears the date 1835 from a later rebuild; the works ran until a fire in 1866. Water from the Bobrza was brought in through an underground channel.
• Stara Kuźnica (Końskie municipality) – a water forge whose hammer, according to a regional guide, struck up to 60 times a minute. It survived thanks to the Niewęgłowski family, especially the blacksmith Adam Niewęgłowski, a Home Army soldier.
• Bobrza – the retaining wall of an unfinished blast-furnace works founded in 1824 by Prince Drucki-Lubecki.

Did you know?

The forge building at Stara Kuźnica had no windows or chimney – the interior was full of smoke, and the only light came through the open doors. Sielpia, Maleniec and Stara Kuźnica have hosted the "Kuźnice Koneckie" technology and tourism fair, when the historic machines are set in motion.

Tripto tips

• Allow 1–2 days: start around Końskie (Maleniec, Sielpia, Stara Kuźnica), then head to Starachowice and Samsonów on day two.
• Check museum opening hours and prices on their websites before you go; the ruins at Samsonów are seen from outside.
• The Końskie municipality is planning an "Iron Valleys" (Żelazne Doliny) trail to link these sites with walking, cycling and kayaking routes.