Ruda Śląska is a city which came into being thanks to the development of heavy industry – mainly mining and metallurgy. To this day, it is one of the largest mining municipalities not only in Poland but also in the European Union. However, the city's industrial character is slowly becoming a thing of the past, with the planned closing of the last operating mine in the city due in 2034.
Although rich in industrial heritage, Ruda Śląska has so far failed to exploit the potential of its industrial monuments. This, however, is about to change. In the next few years, the blast furnace of the Pokój ironworks, located just off the city's main street in the Nowy Bytom district, is to be opened up for tourism. Its reconstruction project was selected in an international architectural competition.

There are also high expectations for the Franciszek shaft, which the city took over in its entirety just this year. It is one of the most picturesque and oldest mine complexes in the region. Mining works stopped here a long time ago. Recent decades mark a slow degradation of the complex, which is still dominated by a 22-metre high rusting headframe.
The Franciszek shaft is an important memorial to Silesian mining. The Brandenburg mine operated on this very site. It was first mentioned as early as 1751, and the mine was officially opened in 1769 – as the first one in Upper Silesia. The Brandenburg mine is also considered to be one of the oldest in Poland.

No material remnants survived from these early decades of its operation. The Franciszek shaft was excavated in 1857 as a mining shaft and served this function for more than half a century. The complex also includes elevator shaft top buildings, a boiler house, a fire brigade station, an administration building, a switchyard and a rescue station. Most of the buildings were erected in the second half of the 19th century, and the rest – in the early 20th century. Since 1984, the Franciszek shaft has been listed in the register of monuments of the Silesian Voivodeship.
The city has far-reaching plans to revitalise the entire Franciszek shaft complex. It is not meant to be an ordinary museum, but a vibrant place which will invigorate the local community.
Local Tradition Centre is currently under construction in the former office building of the Franciszek shaft complex. It is intended to be a combination of a living museum, a centre for regional education and a centre for intergenerational integration. There will be zones dedicated to different aspects of Silesian tradition, including cuisine, handicrafts, and music. The remaining buildings will be converted into communal and assisted housing.

Internal insulation to save brick walls
The Franciszek shaft complex consists of brick buildings. Their ornate façades are stylistically reminiscent of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. The most impressive building is the former fire station, topped by an impressive tower with battlements.
"We have begun the process of revitalising the complex by adapting the office area into Local Tradition Centre. We are carrying out a full range of works there, including wall straightening, roof refurbishment and external wall insulation. Used in all of the buildings of the Franciszek shaft will be internal insulation to keep the brick façades intact. Once the brick façades have been cleaned, the shaft buildings will be fully restored to their former glory", says Łukasz Urbańczyk, urban monuments conservator in Ruda Śląska.

To bring the more than 100-year-old buildings up to modern thermal standards, the contractor chose the Multipor mineral insulation board technology. The thin brick walls required elements as thick as 18 cm. As the monuments conservator assures, the buildings will even be energy-efficient after the renovation. Especially Local Tradition Centre. It will use a heat pump and photovoltaics, so the thick internal insulation's role is to help the whole system work so that the pump is able to heat this sizeable building.

The contractor for the revitalisation of the Franciszek shaft praises the lightness of the Multipor insulation elements (the density of the material is approximately 95 kg/m3) and the ease of their use. It is especially important when there are a lot of wall breaks or semi-circular finials of historic windows. Mineral Multipor panels may be cut into pieces of any size, and shaped as required.
The revitalisation of the Franciszek shaft will take several more years; the pace of the works depends on the funds raised by the city. Local Tradition Centre is due to be completed by the end of this year. The cost of this first phase alone is expected to be approximately PLN 3,000,000 (approx. EUR 700,000), while the revitalisation of the entire shaft complex is estimated at PLN 30,000,000 (approx. EUR 7,000,000).