Municipal Gasworks in the Poznań Province during the Interwar Period

Established in 1919, the Poznań Province covered almost entirely the former Prussian Poznań Province (Provinz Posen) and initially comprised 118 cities, which decreased to 101 in 1938. On the eve of World War I, as many as 80 out of 129 cities had gas in Provinz Posen, and nearly 1/4 of them were supplied with gas from miniature gasoline gas plants. In the wake of World War I and immediately after its end, most small gasoline plants and numerous coal gas plants were shut down and eventually permanently closed down. In total, almost all gasoline and one acetylene gas plant (19 in total), as well as five coal plants, went bankrupt in the Interwar period. Of the latter type, there was a plant in Czempiń, which was shut down only around 1938, after the town was electrified. Ujście is another addition to the list, as it ceased to supply gas from Schneidemühl (Piła) in the mid-1930s. Ultimately, in 1939, gas was used in 43 out of 101 cities in the Province, which was also due to the fact that some of the gas-supplied cities had been moved to the Pomeranian Province a year before. In the Interwar period, several key factors influencing the gasworks in Greater Poland can be observed: the aforementioned liquidation of many gas plants and the transition from gas to electricity in many cities; reconstruction and relaunching of some coal gas plants; and – finally – modernization, combined with optimization of technological processes and expansion of existing gas plants. In the case of several cities, i.e. Międzychód, Nakło nad Notecią and Strzelno, the problem of communalization of plants owned by private German companies should also be noted, as well as Polish-German cooperation in terms of gas supply to the Polish Ujście gas plant from Schneidemühl (Piła).

Established in 1919, the Poznań Province covered almost entirely the former Prussian Poznań Province (Provinz Posen) and initially comprised 118 cities, which decreased to 101 in 1938. On the eve of World War I, as many as 80 out of 129 cities had gas in Provinz Posen, and nearly 1/4 of them were supplied with gas from miniature gasoline gas plants. In the wake of World War I and immediately after its end, most small gasoline plants and numerous coal gas plants were shut down and eventually permanently closed down. In total, almost all gasoline and one acetylene gas plant (19 in total), as well as five coal plants, went bankrupt in the Interwar period. Of the latter type, there was a plant in Czempiń, which was shut down only around 1938, after the town was electrified. Ujście is another addition to the list, as it ceased to supply gas from Schneidemühl (Piła) in the mid-1930s. Ultimately, in 1939, gas was used in 43 out of 101 cities in the Province, which was also due to the fact that some of the gas-supplied cities had been moved to the Pomeranian Province a year before. In the Interwar period, several key factors influencing the gasworks in Greater Poland can be observed: the aforementioned liquidation of many gas plants and the transition from gas to electricity in many cities; reconstruction and relaunching of some coal gas plants; and – finally – modernization, combined with optimization of technological processes and expansion of existing gas plants. In the case of several cities, i.e. Międzychód, Nakło nad Notecią and Strzelno, the problem of communalization of plants owned by private German companies should also be noted, as well as Polish-German cooperation in terms of gas supply to the Polish Ujście gas plant from Schneidemühl (Piła).