The Mier Barracks, also known as the Crown Horse Guard Barracks, and the Wielopole Barracks, is a historic complex of military barracks in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland, located at 3 Chłodna Street, in the neighbourhood of Mirów within the district of

Wola Wola () is a district in western Warsaw, Poland. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into a major financial district, featuring various landmarks and some of the tallest offi ...

. Built in 1732, it originally consisted of six two-storey-tall buildings, placed in two rows on both sides of the street, with two buildings remaining to the present day. Upon opening, it housed the

Crown Horse Guard Regiment The Crown Horse Guard Regiment () was a military unit of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and then of Poland. Formed in 1717 as a dragoon regiment by Jacob Heinrich von Flemming, it was initially commanded by Colonel William Mier, a Scottish of ...

, and was later used by the

Army of Congress Poland The Army of Congress Poland (, ) refers to the military forces of the Kingdom of Poland that existed in the period 1815–1831. History The army was formed even before the Congress Poland, in 1814, and was based on the Army of the Duchy of Warsa ...

until 1851, when it became a

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

of the Warsaw Fire Guard. Currently, it houses the Rescue and Firefighting Unit no. 4 of the

State Fire Service State Fire Service (, PSP) is a professional fire fighting service in Poland. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Interior and Administration (Poland), Polish Ministry of Interior and Administration. The modern State Fire Service is based on t ...

History

Widok Koszar Gwardii Konnej Koronnej Zygmunt Vogel

The barracks were constructed in the town of Wielopole (now part of

) between 1730 and 1732, as part of the architecture of the

Saxon Axis The Saxon Axis () is a feature of the historical city centre of Warsaw. It is a line running from the Vistula through the Presidential Palace, the Krakowskie Przedmieście, Saxon Square, Saxon Palace, Saxon Garden, Lubomirski Palace to Plac � ...

. They were designed by

Joachim Daniel von Jauch Joachim Daniel von Jauch (22 March 1688 – 3 May 1754) was a German-born architect who supervised the baroque development of Warsaw in Poland. Early life and work Joachim Daniel von Jauch was born into the Jauch family in Güstrow, Germany on 22 ...

.Jarosław Zieliński: ''Atlas dawnej architektury ulic i placów Warszawy. Tom 2 Canaletta–Długosza''. Warsaw: Biblioteka Towarzystwa Opieki nad Zabytkami, 1995, pp. 42–43. ISBN 83-9066291-4. (in Polish)''Encyklopedia Warszawy''. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994, p. 948. ISBN 83-01-08836-2. (in Polish) Until 1794, they housed the

, and became called after its commanding officer,

Wilhelm Mier Wilhelm Mier (c. 1680 – 13 February 1758) was a military officer, statesman, and nobleman. He was the Governor of Kraków and Sandomierz from 1715 to 1724, and the member of the Senate of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as the Castellan o ...

.''Encyklopedia Warszawy''. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994, p. 366. ISBN 83-01-08836-2. (in Polish) The complex consisted of two rows of three buildings, placed on both sides of Chłodna Street. Each was formed from three two-storey-tall buildings conjoined with corridors. The barracks were remodeled between 1784 and 1786, in neoclassical style, in accordance to project by

Stanisław Zawadzki Stanisław Zawadzki (1743–1806) was a Polish architect, representative of late-baroque and classicism, inclined towards Palladian architecture and precursor of the empire (style), empire style in Polish architecture, Major General of the Army ...

, and later again after 1815. Later, there were stationed the 2nd Uhlan Regiment from 1806 to 1807, the 14th Cuirassier Division in 1809, the 17th Uhlan Regiment from 1811 to 1812, and the 6th Uhlan Regiment from 1831. In 1851, following the remodeling done by Józef Lessel, the western buildings begun housing the 4th Brigade of the Warsaw Fire Guard. There was also added an observation tower.Janusz Dziano, Wojciech Kępka-Mariański, Ireneusz Wywiał, Danuta Koper: ''Warszawska Wola. Co było, co jest, co pozostanie...'' Warsaw: Magia Słowa, 2015, p. 18. ISBN 978-83-940821-0-9. (in Polish) Later, between the building were building tram tracks, running on Chłodna Street. Koszary Mirowskie w 1865

In 1898, four of its buildings were deconstructed, to make place for the

Mier Halls The Mier Halls () are two identical market halls in Warsaw, Poland, within the neighbourhood of North Downtown, at 1 Iron Gate Square and 1 Mier Square. They were constructed between 1899 and 1902, and remained the largest commerce location in t ...

, which construction begun in 1899, and lasted until 1902. They carried on the name of Wilhelm Mier, and eventually became the namesake of the nearby neighbourhood of Mirów.''Encyklopedia Warszawy''. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994, p. 488. ISBN 83-01-08836-2. (in Polish) In 1944, the remaining buildings of the Mier Barracks were burned town during, and in the aftermath of the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

. After the end of the war, the south building was deconstructed, while the north building was rebuild between 1948 and 1950, in accordance to the project by Władysław Netto. The observation tower was deconstructed. The south building was rebuild the 1970s, and both of them were connected via a glass corridor. Currently the complex is used by the

, which houses there the Rescue and Firefighting Unit no. 4. There are also headquarters of the Masovian Voivodeship Management of the Volunteer Fire Department Association, and the Association of Retired and Pensioner Firefighters of the Republic of Poland. From 1982, there was also located the Museum of Firefighting, until its collection was moved to the Warsaw Fire Department Education and History Centre, opened at 2 Marcinkowskiego Street in 2018.

Notes

References

{{authority control 1732 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 18th century in Warsaw 19th century in Warsaw 19th-century military history of Poland Barracks Defunct fire stations Fire stations completed in 1851 Military history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Military history of Warsaw Military installations established in 1732 Neoclassical architecture in Warsaw Residential buildings completed in 1732 Rebuilt buildings and structures in Warsaw Museums in Warsaw Buildings and structures in Poland destroyed during World War II 1944 disestablishments in Poland Buildings and structures demolished in 1944 Fire stations completed in 1950 1950 establishments in Poland Buildings and structures completed in 1950 Wola Burned buildings and structures in Poland Restored and conserved buildings Museums established in 1982 Firefighting museums Museums disestablished in 2018 Defunct museums in Poland History of firefighting Firefighting in Poland Government buildings in Poland Residential buildings in Warsaw