Ciechocinek, a picturesque health resort in Poland, is famous for its unique ensemble of historic industrial buildings and equipment, which are an integral part of the spa’s recreational space. The graduation towers and the salt works are not only a historical heritage site but also an important part of the food production of brewed salt and natural medicine.
What is unusual about this historic complex is the transformation of its function from a purely industrial one to an industrial and spa one, which took place back in historical times.
The history of the graduation towers and salt works in Ciechocinek dates back to the end of the First Republic, when the search for brine in the area began. In 1824, the rights to the salt lands belonging to Konstanty Leon Wolicki were transferred to the government. Contracts for the construction of buildings and equipment for the salt factory and the salt brewing process were concluded between Wolicki and the Government Commission for Revenue and Treasury, represented by Minister Franciszek Ksawery Prince Drucki-Lubecki. The design and supervision of the construction was entrusted to Jacob Graff, a mining engineer from the Mining Institute in Fribourg and the Mining Academy in Kielce. Construction work began in 1824 and included brine intakes, graduation towers and salt works. Industrial production of food grade salt began in 1832, and the accompanying establishment of the spa was based on the therapeutic properties of the by-products of the brine brewing process, such as sludge and bath lye. The first therapeutic baths were built in 1836, while the inhalation properties of the graduation towers were discovered in the mid-19th century. In 1866, a railway siding was built to transport salt from Ciechocinek, and in 1867 a new railway line from Aleksandrów Kujawski to Ciechocinek was officially opened.
Nowadays, they are not only a tourist attraction, but also a place where you can discover history, benefit from the beneficial properties of the brine and enjoy a unique heritage.