Bydgoszcz’s historic granaries on the Brda River are almost like the city’s coat of arms. They serve as Bydgoszcz’s timeless logo—one that wasn’t conceived in a design competition. Why do the residents feel so much affection, respect, and pride for—one might say—mere granaries? Structures that are decidedly more modest than the opulent townhouses, stylish churches, or important monuments? Bydgoszcz was founded in a location chosen for a reason. Here, overland routes from Greater Poland to Pomerania, from Krajna to Mazovia, and from the Vistula—which has “always” been Poland’s most important trade route—all converged.

Today, the renovated Granaries host exhibitions by the Regional Museum. The permanent exhibition -->> From the Old Market Square to Wolności Square. The eponymous walk, covering the very heart of Bydgoszcz, serves as an opportunity to showcase the city’s most important symbols, elements of urban architecture, interesting places, as well as the people and their daily lives, and the mementos they left behind.

In the vicinity of Bydgoszcz, the Vistula—a true waterway—naturally connects with another water route: the Brda River; and since the 18th century, via the Bydgoszcz Canal, with the Noteć, the Oder, and Western Europe. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Bydgoszcz experienced exceptionally dynamic growth. The driving force behind this boom was, of course, trade. The main commodities traded were grain harvested in Kujawy, Krajna, Greater Poland, and the Pałuki region. Other agricultural produce and handicrafts were also traded, including pots, beer, wine, timber floated down the river, tar, honey, salt, sugar, exotic spices, etc.

As a Bernardine monk from Bydgoszcz wrote in 1604:

Thanks to this bountiful river, the city has attained such splendor and wealth that many nobles, seeing their fortunes dwindle, come here to buy grain and send it to Gdańsk to make up for their shortfalls. As for the citizens, when they marry off their daughters to these nobles, they provide them with a generous dowry. And this is the reason why Bydgoszcz stands out above all other cities in the Kingdom of Poland.

The city quickly expanded beyond the area enclosed by its city walls. Economic prosperity acted as a magnet, fostering the growth of settlement within the city. And how do you think Bydgoszcz expanded spatially from the 15th to the 19th century? Concentrically from the Old Market Square and the Town Hall? Not at all. Just look at the historical and contemporary city maps. Bydgoszcz expanded along the Brda River—westward along the Bydgoszcz Canal and eastward toward the Vistula River. Bydgoszcz, in its current city center—and formerly stretching from the castle in the east to Mill Island in the west—was like one large transshipment port. On both banks of the Brda River, granaries with merchant exchange offices, warehouses, harbors, and ship repair yards were built. Monasteries of the Carmelites, Poor Clares, and Bernardines were also erected along the river, but the granaries were the most important. The Brda River was the city’s lifeblood. The 17th-century mayor Wojciech Łochowski, proud of his city, wrote in his Chronicle:

Bydgoszcz is also famous for its port. On both sides of the river stand impressive buildings, well worth seeing, erected solely for the purpose of storing grain, which is brought here in enormous quantities from Greater Poland, and especially from the entire Pałuki region, Krajna, and the Kashubian lands. Throughout the Kingdom of Poland, it is difficult to find another city where such large quantities of grain are gathered each year; from here, it is shipped to Gdańsk at the appropriate time. From Gdańsk, in turn, a great deal of herring, sea salt, oranges, and wines from France, the Rhine, the Canary Islands, Crete, or Malmsey is transported upriver to Bydgoszcz.

During the Partitions of Poland, the importance of waterway trade did not diminish. Quite the contrary. A major boost came with the construction, between 1772 and 1800, of the Bydgoszcz Canal to the Noteć and Oder rivers, as well as the transformation of the former Mennicza Island into Młyńska Island. An entire complex of mills and granaries was built on the island, associated, among other things, with supplying the Prussian army. It was also then, outside Mill Island and the city limits of the time, that the enormous Royal Granaries were erected in a bend of the Brda River; after being destroyed following World War II, they were replaced by the modern Opera Nova.

Waterway transport flourished until the second half of the 19th century. Later, it was increasingly supplanted by the railroad.

To this day, only a few historic granaries have survived in Bydgoszcz, and only four date from before the 19th century. All are located on the riverbanks, in the very center of the city; all are half-timbered; and all now serve as museums.

The three granaries at 7–11 Grodzka Street (which also serve as Bydgoszcz’s modern logo) were built between 1793 and 1800 by the merchant Samuel Gotlieb Engelmann. Originally, the complex on Grodzka Street consisted of five granaries arranged in a row. In 1960, two granaries (numbers 13 and 15) were completely destroyed by fire. Even then, they were so deeply rooted in the city’s tradition that to this day, there are calls among Bydgoszcz residents for their reconstruction. The surviving granaries were converted into exhibition spaces for the Bydgoszcz Museum in 1962. In 2006, a thorough renovation and modernization of their interiors were completed.

Particularly beloved by the residents of Bydgoszcz and at the same time distinctive is the granary closest to Mostowa Street, often called the “Dutch granary” because of its circular gable roof. In front of this granary, a small amphitheater has been built, and a bronze model of medieval Bydgoszcz has been placed there.

The fourth and oldest granary in Bydgoszcz is the so-called White Granary on Mill Island. It was built in the fourth quarter of the 18th century, right next to the abutment of the now-defunct Magazynowy Bridge, to which a beautiful modern pedestrian footbridge connecting Mill Island with the Opera Nova pays homage. In 1975, along with other structures on Mill Island, the White Granary was transferred to the Museum.

In 2009, the White Granary was designated to house the archaeological collections of the Regional Museum. -->>Permanent exhibition: Bydgoszcz and the Region at the Dawn of History -->> In the Stronghold of Bydgost

There are other historic granaries on Mill Island, but these date back to the 19th century. Around 1851, a granary for bagged flour was built on the Brda Młynówka River; it now houses the stylish restaurant “Karczma Młyńska.” Rother’s Mills and Granaries, located across from the beautiful modern marina in the northern part of Mill Island, have also been tastefully renovated. On the other bank of the Brda River, in the New Town, the former granaries once housed the stylish restaurant “Stary Port” (13 Stary Port St.) and the popular youth club “AVA 3.0,” with its very interesting interior (21 Stary Port St.). Old and New Bydgoszcz are symbolically connected by a contemporary sculpture suspended over the Brda River near the granaries “Crossing the River” by Jerzy Kędziora, which was unveiled at midnight on May 1, 2004, to mark Poland’s accession to the European Union.

In the same location, the modern mBank building on the banks of the Brda River (which has received numerous awards in national architectural competitions) serves as a kind of contemporary granary within the cityscape. With its modern, bold form, it echoes the former architectural character of Bydgoszcz’s city center. Symbolically, much like the old granaries, it also serves to “gather” and, hopefully, further enrich the contemporary citizens of Bydgoszcz.

Granaries on the Brda River (MOB)

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