Water mills in the rural landscape

Rural objects of agricultural and comestible industry constitute important, although often underestimated, elements creating the cultural landscape of a village. Next to dominants in the form of churches or seats of land owners, industrial sets were important factors in rural, small building development. Production objects which have been permanently inscribed into the village landscape were water driven flour mills. Thanks to applied building and architectonical solutions which were based on tradition of a place ,mill buildings coexisted in harmony with the remaining development. Vast hydro technical systems which accompanied mill sets often gave a new image to the neighbourhood. The chosen water mills which exist in the southern part of former Wrocław district were discussed in the paper. Their role in creating the village landscape was described while basing on characteristic objects

Architectural values of half-timbered churches of Milicz Land

Świątynie wraz z przynależnymi im obszarami stanowiły od wieków przestrzeń sacrum. Specyficzna lokalizacja kościołów i stosowane rozwiązania architektoniczne powodowały, iż oprócz znaczenia symbolicznego, posiadały one często wysokie walory estetyczne i krajobrazowe. W dolnośląskich wsiach i miastach coraz rzadziej znaleźć można budynki o konstrukcjach drewnianych. Tym cenniejsza jest specyficzna grupa obiektów – kościoły wzniesione w drewnianych konstrukcjach słupowo-ryglowych. Obok najbardziej znanych świątyń w Jaworze i Świdnicy istnieje wiele innych, które świadcząc o kunszcie budowniczych, równocześnie tworzą charakterystyczne krajobrazy sakralne. W referacie omówione zostaną wybrane świątynie z gminy Milicz. Obiekty o podobnej konstrukcji nośnej posiadają różne rozwiązania strukturalne oraz formalne. Przedstawione zostaną ich walory historyczne, architektoniczne i kompozycyjne ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem ich roli w tworzeniu krajobrazu kulturowego.Temples together with their adherent areas have been sacred space for centuries. Because of peculiar localization of churches as well as their architecture they had both – symbolic meaning and often attractive design. It is more and more difficult to find wooden construction buildings in Lower-Silesian villages and cities. So it makes this specific group of buildings – the churches built in wooden post and beam construction even more valuable. Among the best known churches in Jawor and Świdnica in Lower Silesia there are many others which prove the artistry of their builders as well as create characteristic sacred landscapes. The paper presents some of the chosen temples from land Milicz. Buildings with the similar supporting structure have completely different structural solutions. Their historical, architectural and compositional values will be presented in the paper with the particular focus on their role in creating cultural landscape

Windmills in the landscape of village

With the moment of appearing the agricultural and food-processing industrial buildings in the village panorama among the country houses and buildings, new elements have come out to shape its character and cultural landscape. Among small sized country buildings and structures where the dominants were the sacral buildings, manors and groups of land farming buildings, the sub-dominants appeared in the form of grain mills, distilleries, sugar factories and other industrial buildings. Their prevailing position in the village panorama is due to their size and capacity, the material applied in their construction, and sometimes the elevation form. Apart from the technical elements (block, structure, material, and architectural form) a location of the given group of production unit was important. Weather the building is located within the country houses, in a farming buildings group, on the edge of the village, or in an independent location - it does significantly influence the way they are perceived. The clarity of the dominant or merely a characteristic silhouette of the industrial building is very distinct in the case of placing it in an open landscape. This factor is especially significant in the case of windmills. Commonly found in the end of the 19th century, windmills in the outskirts of towns and cities did not have any chance to survive in the succeeding decades. The competition from industrial mills and development of residential settlements cruelly and forcibly eliminated them from the suburban landscape. In the country areas these processes took place at a slightly slower pace, however, within the last 50-60 years also the windmills began to disappear quickly from the village landscape. Seeing the advancing degradation in diversification of the village landscape, it seems justifiable to draw attention to the need of protection of groups of production buildings, or more broadly - the protection of cultural landscape created by them. In this paper, the issue of occurrence of buildings of industrial function has been presented in the example of windmills located in the area of Przemęt, county of Wolsztyn. The mills' spatial unity with their surrounding has been presented along with their role in creation of historic image of the villages. The selected examples describe different forms of usage and conditions of preservation of these buildings

Tower-windmill as the technics relikt of Opole region

Windmills belong to objects, which except historical and technical qualities show the evolution of the material culture of the region, own landscape's values. By decades they were buildings, which create the locality landscape and they distinguish a particular situating, proportions of blocks and construction's solutions. Some apart from numerous buildings, so-called kozlak windmills and seldom found paltrak windmills, some Dutch-type ones also exist. Their role in the cultural landscape of the Opole region is presented. In particular their structure, both technical and technological system, location, state of preservation and way of proposed use, is also shown

Manor and Palace Estates in Ślężański Landscape Park – Problems with Preservation and Usage

Quaint rural buildings, stately manor houses and spacious farmlands are common sights in the village landscape near the Ślężański Landscape Park. Out of eighteen rural communities within the borders of the Ślężański park, there are eleven which have manor estates with various physical conditions, usage and state of preservation. Developed for current use only to a limited extent, these estates and grounds are often in such disrepair that they exert a negative impact on the rural spatial composition and local identity. This article discusses some of the issues of preservation and development of manor estates within the Ślężański Landscape Park

Railway Crossings in the Landscape of the Bystrzyca Valley

Bridge crossings as well as other structures that overcome territorial or transportation barriers represent an indispensable element of the surrounding landscape. Appearing within the span of decades, bridge structures and permanent viaducts have infiltrated the landscape of urbanized areas. With regard to open terrain, especially in areas with high value defined by preserved nature and the visual quality of landscape, these structures become significant points of distinction, often altering the landscape's spatial quality. Characteristic buildings, whose architectonic forms possess independent value, assume a new expression and grace, when they blend with a picturesque landscape. While standing as monuments to the power of technology, and the skill of designers and builders, they simultaneously become symbols of coexistence of advanced technology and the natural environment. The cultural and landscape value of railway crossings (bridges and viaducts) of the now closed Bystrzyca Valley Railway are discussed in the article. The concept of preservation and exposition of the assets of the railway route with particular allowance for engineering structures, is also presented

Kępa Mieszczańska in Wroclaw – integration of formal and funcional island with the urban public space

Wrocław, jako miasto z rozwiniętą siecią rzeczną, posiada liczne wyspy różniące się między sobą: pochodzeniem, powierzchnią, stopniem i formą zagospodarowania. Jedną z nich jest Kępa Mieszczańska zlokalizowana w zachodniej części miejskiego odcinka Odry. Już od XIII w. lokowano w jej obrębie obiekty wykorzystujące energię wody oraz transport wodny. W drugiej połowie XVIII w. powstały obszerne koszary, będące podstawą rozległych zabudowań wojskowych. Specyficzny sposób zagospodarowania i użytkowania wyspy spowodował dodatkowe ograniczenie jej dostępności. Funkcje przemysłowo-magazynowe i militarne, choć zredukowane po 1945 r., przetrwały do początku lat 90. XX w. Obecnie na Kępie Mieszczańskiej trwa planowy proces przekształcania terenów poprzemysłowych i powojskowych w tereny ogólnodostępne. W artykule przedstawiono problematykę i proces powolnej integracji wyizolowanego formalnie i funkcjonalnie obszaru Kępy Mieszczańskiej z miejską przestrzenią publiczną Wrocławia.Wroclaw, as a city with a developed waterway network, has numerous islands differing between themselves in the origin, the area, the step and the form of developing. One of them is the Kępa Mieszczańska island located in the western part of city’s section of Odra river. Already from 13th century the objects that used energy of water and water transport were located in its range. In the second half of 18 th century a large barracks, underlying of extensive military buildings had been formed. The specific way of developing and using the island caused additional restriction of its accessibility. Industrial-stock and military functions, although reduced after 1945, held out until the beginning of the nineties. Nowadays on Kępa Mieszczańska lasts a planned process of transforming post-industrial’s and post-military’s areas into a generally accessible space. The article shows an issue and slow process of integration the structural and functional isolated area of Kępa Mieszczańska with the Wroclaw’s urban public space

Applications of PTFE foil as a sensor alpha-radiation

Zastosowanie elektretu w rozwiązaniu dozymetru wykorzystuje efekt kompensacji dodatniego ładunku zgromadzonego w sensorze (elektrecie) w wyniku oddziaływania promieniowania z materią. Jony ujemne, powstałe w wyniku działania promieniowania jonizującego wewnątrz komory jonizacyjnej, kompensują dodatni ładunek elektretu. Pomiar ładunku próbki elektretowej, zastosowanej jako sensor, przed ekspozycją, oraz bezpośrednio po, pozwalają ocenić stężenie czynnika wywołującego zagrożenie w badanym środowisku.This article presents PTFE electret elements for detection and measurement of α-emission. Negative ions produced inside the chamber are collected on the positively charged electret, causing a reduction of its surface charge. The measurement of the depleted charge during the exposure period is a measure of integrated ionization during the measurement period. The electret charge is read before and after the exposure using a specially built non-contact electret voltage. Radon is a colourless, odourless and chemically inert radioactive gas, occurring as a radioactive decay product of the element uranium,238U in a wide range of rocks and soils, and in building materials incorporating or manufactured from these. Radon concentrates in the built environment, the most significant isotope, 222Rn, decaying by α-emission (half-life 3.8 days) to 218Po and thence (3.05 min) to 214Po, themselves both α-emitters. Radon is now recognised to be the second largest cause of lung cancer in the after smoking. Electret elements for dosimetr made of PTFE foil, and were formed on the corona triode

Current trends in designing areas adjacent to water using the example of rural areas in the Opole region

Wody powierzchniowe w przestrzeni wiejskiej od lat ulegały poważnym przemianom, prowadzącym w skrajnych przypadkach do ich eliminowania z krajobrazu. W ostatnich latach obserwuje się coraz częstsze działania na rzecz przywrócenia wód powierzchniowych, jako elementów o funkcji przyrodniczej i społeczno-kulturowej. Podejmowane prace, obok kształtowania i ochrony krajobrazu nadwodnego, prowadzą do rozwijania i wzmacniania bioróżnorodności oraz przywracania równowagi hydrologicznej. W artykule omówiono rolę wód powierzchniowych na terenach wiejskich oraz aktualne tendencje i możliwości zagospodarowania przestrzeni nadwodnych. Badaniami objęto tereny w wybranych wsiach województwa opolskiego. Wielokryteriowa ocena obszarów sąsiadujących z wodą pozwoliła na sformułowanie wniosków, które z obserwacjami i wywiadami społecznymi, stały się podstawą opracowania możliwych form zagospodarowania terenów uwarunkowanych potrzebami mieszkańców i aktualnymi trendami zagospodarowania obszarów nadwodnych.The surface water resources of rural areas have been subject to transformation for many years and in extreme cases they have even disappeared from the landscape. Recently, some more intensive action have been witnessed, which are focused on restoring surface water resources as elements that perform both natural and social-cultural functions. These actions lead to the design and protection of landscape and, at the same time, to the development and reinforcement of biodiversity and restoring the hydrological balance. This article discusses the role of surface waters in rural areas and the current trends and possibilities in designing waterside areas. The research was conducted in selected villages of the Opole region. A multi-criteria evaluation of waterside areas leads to conclusions, which, together with observations and interviews, constitute the basis for new design forms