The Old Factory – history
1868-1983
The Museum is located in Żywieckie Przedmieście district, in the buildings of a former manufactory and, after 1887, a broadcloth and woollen mill, established by Bielsko clothier Karl Büttner (1833-1884), and later run by his sons, Karl Theodor (1863-1932) and Gustav Adolf (1865-1933). The complex of buildings was gradually expanded. On the plot purchased in 1868, they first erected a two-storey building at no. 8, 1 Maja St. with workshops and outbuildings next to the yard, while in 1888 a multi-storey factory building was constructed on Sukiennicza Street. A two-storey production hall incorporating a vast loft, where the main part of the Museum exposition is located, was built in two stages and overlooked Żwirki i Wigury Square. Its northern aspect was completed in 1900, while its southern part and staircase were completed in 1906-1907. The other buildings and a townhouse on the site of today’s green spaces on Żwirki i Wigury Square, formerly owned by the Büttner family from 1906, were demolished when Zamkowa St. was extended in 1947. A parade of shops, which included such establishments as the Adlon Café, was constructed in the 1930s on the corner of Sukiennicza and 1 Maja Streets, replacing a single-storey building. At that time the company of Karol Büttner and Sons employed 150 workers in two plants, and apart from producing broadcloth, Cheviot wool and worsted wool fabrics, they also began production of hand-crafted carpets. They had agency offices in Poznań and Gdańsk and their products were sold abroad, including the Middle East. After the Second World War the nationalised factory formed part of the Leon Lasek Woollen Industry Plants (ZPW), known later as ZPW ‘Bewelana’ B/A production plant. When industrial activity in the mill ceased, the property was divided between new owners, and some of the buildings were given over to the Museum of Textile Technology which transferred here in 1983.
1983-2015
The Museum of Textile Technology was founded in 1979 as a branch of the Regional Museum of Bielsko-Biała. It took over the exhibits associated with weaving from the main institution and later enriched its collection with machines and tools acquired mainly from local factories. In 1983 the Museum was moved to the former factory buildings previously occupied by ZPW ‘Bewelana’. Its activity during this time focused mainly on collecting, cataloguing and making safe the exhibits. The reorganisations lasted more than a decade. It was not until 1990 when, following the design of an exposition project and the employment of a larger number of experienced clothiers, the deadlock was finally broken and after several years of intensive work, the Museum of Technology and Textile Industry was opened. The new name was introduced in 1995. The first part of the exposition on the ground floor was opened to the public on 2nd December 1996, followed by the opening of the exhibition on the first floor a year later.
Since then the historical machinery has mostly remained in the places where it was originally positioned. However, the area beyond the entrance was rearranged several times to hold smaller exhibitions dedicated to such themes as printing, firefighting and the history of the local waterworks. The inclusion of the Museum in the Silesian Industrial Monuments Route in 2006 was the catalyst for its thorough reconstruction. In 2010 the vast loft was put to use and has since hosted temporary exhibitions. In 2011-2012 the remaining exposition rooms underwent renovation. In the meantime, part of the ground floor was also completely refurbished to house a permanent historical exhibition. This was created from scratch between 2013 and 2015 and called ‘From Textile Production to the Fiat 126p: Industry in Bielsko-Biała in the 19th and 20th centuries’. In 2013 the Museum changed its name to The Old Factory.
