Kielce Bus Station
Kielce Bus Station Dworzec PKS w Kielcach | |
---|---|
![]() Kielce Bus Station under reconstruction as of January 2020 | |
Location | Czarnowska 12 25-504 Kielce Poland |
Coordinates | 50°52′32″N 20°37′18″E / 50.87556°N 20.62167°ECoordinates: 50°52′32″N 20°37′18″E / 50.87556°N 20.62167°E |
Owned by | City of Kielce |
Operated by | Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego |
Construction | |
Architect | Edward Modrzejewski |
Other information | |
Website | dworzec |
History | |
Opened | 20 July 1984 |
Location | |
![]() ![]() Kielce Bus Station Location within Poland |
Kielce Bus Station (Polish: Dworzec PKS w Kielcach) is a bus station in Kielce, Poland. It is a novelty architecture type of a building, shaped to resemble a UFO.[1] Opened in 1984, it was seen as one of the more modern bus stations of its kind in Poland at that particular time.[2][3]
History[]
The building was constructed from 1975 to 1984,[3] and opened on 20 July that year, two days before the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of Poland.[4] It was designed by Polish architect .[4] The facility was seen as highly advanced in terms of its overall capacity,[2] and quickly became a minor tourist attraction and one of the landmarks of Kielce.[4] It was designed to accommodate 1,500 buses and the projected number[2] of 24,000 passengers daily.[5] The size of the complex is about 4 hectares (9.9 acres).[6]
Recently the local government has declared the building to be a monument, and the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship monument curator has justified this decision by describing the building as [3] "unique and novel example of People's Republic of Poland-era type of architecture" and "one of the most valuable architectural designs of the years of 1970s and 1980s in Poland, and a material document of this period".[3]
The fortunes of the building decreased in the 1990s, as post-communist Poland saw a rise in private car ownership, and a decreased interest in public transit. The building, formerly owned by the PKS company, has been privatized in the early 2010s.[4][7] While the government authorities were interested in preserving the building, seen as an important landmark, its private owners were struggling to turn a profit out of it. As of the 21st century, the building became increasingly in need of renovation, and the owner, the PKS 2 company, was planning to replace it with a new construction at a different location, with the original building being heavily modified or replaced.[3][4][6] A spokesman for the company has even declared that they are not willing to invest in renovating the building, and in fact are waiting for the building to collapse.[4] This has caused criticism from individuals who see the building as part of modern Poland's cultural heritage, and demand that the design is not significantly altered.[1][8]
The city bought back the bus station at the end of March 2016.[9] In September 2018, a major reconstruction project was started with the goal of almost completely rebuilding the station, but preserving the basic design and the distinctive shape of the building. The works are scheduled to finish in June 2020, with a planned cost of 68,7 million PLN, 9 million of which is to be provided by the city government (with the bulk of the rest of the funding coming from the European Union).[10][11]
Gallery[]
The station before the reconstruction began in 2018
Interior of the old station
Stairs leading to the main hall
The main hall
The reconstruction of the station in 2019
Bus station at night in January 2020
See also[]
- Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, similar shaped Frank Lloyd Wright building
- Spodek
References[]
- ^ a b "Poland's architecture: Love them or hate them". The Economist. 2013-12-19. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ a b c "Kielce - Dworzec PKS. Atrakcje turystyczne Kielc. Ciekawe miejsca Kielc". Polskaniezwykla.pl. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ a b c d e "Ministerstwo pyta: Dlaczego wpisaliście dworzec PKS do zabytków?" (in Polish). Kielce.gazeta.pl. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ a b c d e f "Dworzec autobusowy ma 25 lat" (in Polish). Kielce.gazeta.pl. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ "Dworzec PKS w Kielcach" (in Polish). Kielce.gazeta.pl. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ a b "Powojenny Modernizm". Powojenny Modernizm. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ "Dworzec PKS, Kielce, 1975-84" (in Polish). Bryla.pl. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ "Nie damy zasłonić 'spodka'!" (in Polish). Wyborcza.pl. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ^ Sztandera, Marcin (2016-04-01). "Miasto wreszcie kupiło słynny dworzec autobusowy. Za 20 mln złotych". kielce.wyborcza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2016-04-17.
- ^ "Dworzec PKS Kielce. Trwa modernizacja dworca PKS. Zdjęcia z budowy". www.muratorplus.pl. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
- ^ Redakcja (2019-05-17). "Remont UFO czyli słynnego dworca PKS w Kielcach. Szkielet kopuły ma coraz więcej nowych elementów (WIDEO, ZDJĘCIA)". Kielce Nasze Miasto (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-09-08.
External links[]
![]() |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bus station in Kielce. |
- Googie architecture
- 1984 establishments in Poland
- Bus stations in Poland
- Buildings and structures in Kielce
- Transport in Kielce
- Transport infrastructure completed in 1984
- UFO culture