Frombork Water Tower
Medals available in the souvenir shop!
In 1571, the first water tower in Polish lands, called the Water Tower, was built over the canal flowing through the city. It was constructed by bricklayer Stanisław, brought from Wrocław. Inside the tower was a bucket device made by Wrocław pipe master Walenty Hendel. The waterworks’ task was to supply water to Cathedral Hill, the Bishop’s Palace, and the canons’ houses. The Venerable Frombork Chapter paid for this work: two hundred thalers, twelve bushels of grain, and compensation for clothing. Bricklayer Stanisław received 100 marks, 6 barrels of table drink, and 15 bushels of wheat. The construction lasted a year and was the second such waterworks in Europe. The first was built in 1548 in Augsburg.
The Frombork waterworks is a unique monument of medieval hydraulic engineering on a European scale. Water flowing through the canal turned a large water wheel, and its energy drove a chain with attached buckets. The chain moved around two shafts. The lower one was an extension of the water wheel’s axis, and the upper one was at the top of the tower. The buckets filled with water at the lowest point, then traveled upward, and at the moment of turning on the upper shaft, the water poured out into a tank placed at the top of the tower, from where it flowed through pipes hollowed out of oak trunks to the fortress and the canons’ houses.
After 60 years of operation, the first renovation was carried out. Thanks to the help of Bishop Teodor Potocki, in 1720 all elements were replaced. This renovation allowed water to be supplied to Cathedral Hill until the end of the 18th century. After 1945, the Water Tower stood neglected.
Only in the 1990s did the facility flourish and become a must-see on tourist trips to Frombork. In 2012, the Water Tower was renovated with funds from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. For its conservation, the facility was distinguished in 2013 in the “Well-Maintained Monument” competition by the General Conservator of Monuments – the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. Recognition and congratulations are due to the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Dobromira and Zygmunt Czarnecki, for the successful and careful conservation of the Tower, carried out with respect for the authenticity of the historic substance and its historical layers.
Today, the Water Tower is an excellent viewpoint overlooking Cathedral Hill, the Old Town, and the Vistula Lagoon. It houses a Souvenir Gallery and a small café.
