Drapacz Chmur () is a historical building in

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, Poland. It was the second skyscraper built in post-

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Poland. Finished in 1934 after five years of construction, it made pioneering Polish use of

steel frame Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The develop ...

construction. Today, Drapacz Chmur is considered the most spectacular and beautiful example of functionalism in Poland.Wojewódzki Program Opieki nad Zabytkami w województwie śląskim na lata 2010−2013
www.slaskie.pl ccessed 2019-04-06/ref> The building has seventeen stories, fourteen above the ground, and contained one of the first garbage chutes in Poland. It is 60 m tall and until 1955, it was the second highest building in the country (after

Prudential, Warsaw The Prudential House, officially known now as the Hotel Warszawa, is a historic skyscraper hotel in Warsaw, Poland, located on Warsaw Insurgents Square along Świętokrzyska Street. Built between 1931 and 1933 in the Art Deco style, it served as ...

). It was designed by architect Tadeusz Kozłowski and structural engineer

Stefan Bryła Stefan Władysław Bryła (Polish pronunciation: ; born 17 August 1886 in Kraków – died 3 December 1943 in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish construction engineer and welding pioneer. He designed and built the first welded road bridge in the world ...

to house Polish Revenue Office employees. The flats are spacious and luxurious. Gustaw Holoubek and Kazimierz Kutz were among the building's notable residents after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Drapacz Chmur is located at 15 Żwirki i Wigury Street.

References

{{coord, 50, 15, 15, N, 19, 00, 49, E, display=title, region:PL_type:landmark_source:dewiki Skyscrapers in Katowice Commercial buildings completed in 1934 Skyscraper office buildings in Poland Modernist architecture in Poland 1934 establishments in Poland

See also

References