gdyby nie kolej cz-1 - If there was no rail 1

Piła is the town of 75 thousands inhabitants located at the borders of West Pomerania and Greater Poland.
It is situated at the Gwda River in thesurroundings of numerous lakes and forests.
Piła's merits are immaculate nature and beautiful landscapes.
The town location at the crossing of roads from Silesia to West Coast of Poland
and from Szczecin to Warsaw also may be counted as town attractiveness.
The railway lines run in 7 directions from the town centre.
This geographical location had undoubtedly a huge influence on the development of town,
which is nowadays significant economic centre specializing in the electronic and printing industry.
The history of the town is dated from Middle Ages.
The first written record related to Piła was made in 1449.
The town was probably given municipal rights in the XV century
which were confirmed on the 4th of March in 1513 by King of Poland - Zygmunt Stary.
The history of the town abounds in many important and often tragic events.
Piła was harassed by fires and wars over the course of time;
it was a member of different countries in its history, too.
After the first partition of Poland in 1772
Piła was located within the borders of Prussia
and it was named Schneidemuhl.
During that historical period the development of the town
was based on agriculture, trade and craftsmanship.
The breakthrough occurred in the half of XIX century.
Speaks Marek Fijałkowski historian, the Regional Museum in Pila
There are important dates in the history of every town.
The 27th of July in 1851 is significant date for Piła
because King of Prussia arrived to the town by train from Berlin to Bydgoszcz.
It is related to opening of Eastern Prussian Railway,
which intended to connect Berlin, the capital of Prussia, to Krolewiec.
From that time the development of railways in Pila accelerated.
Many railways were built, for example in 1879 the railway to Poznan
was built and other railways were formed in the following years: 1873 to Tczew, 1878 to Szczecinek, 1781 to Wałcz.
which is associated with town development.
Pila became very important junction and one of the biggest railway stations
It is certain that Pila would have never been such a big town
if there had been no such industrial jump as it took
place thanks to railways in the half of XIX century.
After launching the first railway, dynamic population growth of Piła started.
There were 3 thousands inhabitants in 1834.
The town had 4 thousands inhabitants in 1851.
Twenty years later population in the town doubled to 10 thousands.
The inhabitants of Piła amounted to 30 thousands in 1914.
It was the cause of forming urban poviat in Piła out of Chodziez poviat.
Within 50 years, former wooden village became
one of the most important cities in Eastern Prussia
besides Poznan and Bydgoszcz.
The main impulse for the town development
was undoubtedly the creation of railway node in Piła.
The town became large junction and rail
industry centre in the short span of time.
Speaks Marek Fijałkowski historian, the Regional Museum in Pila
The first rail workshops in Piła were founded in 1873,
the repair of steam engine locomotives began in 1902,
and Great Royal Rail Works were founded in 1907,
later known as Great Imperial Rail Work
which are now known as ZNTK.
During The First World War it employed over 2 thousands workers.
2,5 thousands workerswere employed after 1945 up to 60's of the XX century.
It was truly big employer.
The other branches of industry were developed in Piła.
At the beginning of XX century aviation works of Albatros Flugzeugwerke were formed.
It was one of the biggest aviation factories in contemporary Germany.
During The First World War one hundred of planes a month were produced there.
In 1919 the military garrison was founded in the town.
Piła made the most of the opportunity created by railways.
Many other cities in Poland were not given such a chance.
The building of railways in the other cities in Poland
was often solicited for a long time.
Speaks Marek Fijałkowski historian, the Regional Museum in Pila
We know many examples of the cities,
I won't mention them now because I would not like to upset their inhabitants,
which once had a greater importance than Piła,
but they lost it because of the lack of railway in their territory.
The inhabitants of Chodziez fought for forming railway
across their town and the man responsible for its creation was Kolmar.
The town name was changed from Chodziez to Kolmar
in order to commemorate him and thank him for his success.
People knew that the building of railways meant
a great chance for development of their town.
During the First World War about 600 thousands travelers departed from Piła yearly.
Over the course of time the railway station was surrounded on both sides with lines.
It became insular station. It was necessary to build an underground passage
to let people reach the railway station from the side of the town.
The building of 70 meters tunnel at the break of the XIX century and the XX century
was undertaken by Eduard Golz.
The character of town railway station has remained the same up to now.
Speaks Roman Chwaliszewski Regional Office for the Protection of Historical
Monuments in Poznań, Head of Delegation in Pila
The railway station had incredible usable merits.
It had to gather somehow people around it.
So, there were different types of departure
lounge for 1st class wealthy travelers as well as for 2nd and 3rd.
On the old postcards we could see that differentiation based on money existed.
There were some technical rooms related to telegraph
and management as well as to railway service and baggage mail.
The next buildings were founded such as railway mail and former Piła "2" and so on.
The restaurant functioned in the railway premises divided into categories.
The remains of inner decoration of catering facility are still visible now.
Of course, they are repainted and slightly changed
but generally they are still there.
Speaks Roman Chwaliszewski Regional Office for the Protection of Historical
Monuments in Poznań, Head of Delegation in Pila
The bulk of railway station was changed and rebuilt
but it was always showcase of the town.
Those who arrived to Piła as pioneers in 1945
remember that when the town lied in ruins
and it was difficult to find shelter, the railway station
was quiet and safe place to rest.