Graduation towers in Poland. Genesis, current state and future of the phenomenon

 

Salt is one of the materials with many uses. For centuries, its therapeutic values have been emphasized. Former salt mining centres, in which graduation towers were used to concentrate brine, played a special role. Along with changes in the technology of obtaining salt, these devices were gradually withdrawn from the use. Some of them began to perform a spa function, which resulted from the impact of the specific microclimate around them on treatment options, including upper respiratory tract diseases. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, a great interest in the graduation towers was noted, due to which new facilities began to be built, and adapted to perform the therapeutic function. The literature on the subject is basically limited to analyses of the individual historical objects in terms of history and technology as well as popular-scientific guidebooks and informational studies. The purpose of this study is to give an idea of the genesis and current state of the construction of external graduation towers in Poland (89 facilities have been inventoried), taking into account the dynamics of this state, and the diversity of graduation towers due to its form, size and method of funding. Particular attention was paid to the spatial diversity of this phenomenon.

 

Keywords: graduation tower, halotherapy, salt, spa, city, Poland

 

Zarys treści: Sól należy do surowców o wszechstronnym zastosowaniu. Od wieków podkreślane były jej walory terapeutyczne. Szczególna rola przypadła dawnym ośrodkom górnictwa soli, w których w celu stężania solanki wykorzystywano tężnie (gradiernie). Wraz ze zmianami w technologii pozyskiwania soli, urządzenia te stopniowo były wycofywane z użycia. Część z nich zaczęła pełnić funkcję uzdrowiskową, co wynikało z wpływu specyficznego mikroklimatu wokół nich na możliwość leczenia m.in. chorób górnych dróg oddechowych. Na przełomie XX i XXI w. odnotowano duże zainteresowanie tężniami, dzięki czemu zaczęły powstawać nowe obiekty, specjalnie budowane i przystosowane do pełnienia funkcji leczniczej. Literatura przedmiotu ogranicza się w zasadzie do analizy poszczególnych obiektów zabytkowych pod względem historycznym i technologicznym oraz popularno-naukowych opracowań o charakterze przewodnikowym i informacyjnym. Celem niniejszej pracy jest ukazanie genezy i stanu obecnego budownictwa tężni zewnętrznych w Polsce (zinwentaryzowano 89 obiektów) z uwzględnieniem jego dynamiki oraz zróżnicowania tężni ze względu na formę, wielkość i sposób finansowania inwestycji. Zwrócono szczególną uwagę na przestrzenne zróżnicowanie tego zjawiska.

Salt is one of the materials with many uses. For centuries, its therapeutic values have been emphasized. Former salt mining centres, in which graduation towers were used to concentrate brine, played a special role. Along with changes in the technology of obtaining salt, these devices were gradually withdrawn from the use. Some of them began to perform a spa function, which resulted from the impact of the specific microclimate around them on treatment options, including upper respiratory tract diseases. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, a great interest in the graduation towers was noted, due to which new facilities began to be built, and adapted to perform the therapeutic function. The literature on the subject is basically limited to analyses of the individual historical objects in terms of history and technology as well as popular-scientific guidebooks and informational studies. The purpose of this study is to give an idea of the genesis and current state of the construction of external graduation towers in Poland (89 facilities have been inventoried), taking into account the dynamics of this state, and the diversity of graduation towers due to its form, size and method of funding. Particular attention was paid to the spatial diversity of this phenomenon.