Barbara Papaj

The project “Silesian Clay-pipes Factory from Zborowskie” is being realized within the frameworks of the research activity of the Museum “Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park in Chorzów”. The main goal of the project was to build a faithful replica of the former clay-pipes factory. The dendrochronological analysis, which was a very important stage of the researches, has proved that the wood used for the construction of the building came from trees cut down in 1838 or 1839, which denied the original thesis considering the building a relic of the factory that was closed down in 1840. The factory was founded in 1753 by Andreas von Garnier, Rappard, Karl von Unfriedt and Samuel Grulich. The Prussian King Frederick II granted them with the privilege by the force of which they had exclusive rights to manufacture clay pipes in the region of Silesia. The article gathers the results of the excavations on the clay-pipes factory. Both all recognized structures and the most important archaeological finds are presented.

First accounts of the village of Zborowskie show that it was founded in the 16th century as a typical farming village. Metallurgy was also of great economic importance as it developed in the basin of the local rivers Liswarta, Pankówka and Mała Panwia from the second half of the 14th century. Numerous metal-working centres were in operation in the vicinity in the 16th and 17th century. A watershed event in the evolution of Zborowskie occurred in the middle of the 18th century with the discovery of white kaolin that had been used from the 16th century in the British Isles and in the Low Countries to make stoneware smoking pipes. Following the example of the west European manufactories it was decided at Zborowskie to set up a manufactory specialised in the production of white-kaolin pipes, put into operation in 1753. The village, whose inhabitants had until then cultivated land and to a lesser extent engaged in metallurgical production, suddenly became a major industrial centre. Pipes made at the Zborowskie workshop were noted for their superior quality comparable with Dutch products. In its heyday it produced as many as two million pipes a year.
Archaeological research conducted in the village in 2013 and 2014 confirmed the location of the former manufactory. Analysis of the results and parallel historical research proved that the village topography underwent far-reaching changes: The part in which the factory was set up was reserved for the purpose and became a new village centre. Employment of incoming traders from western Europe then resulted in the transformation of the village’s social nature. The transformation of the population structure is evidenced in the public registers, inter alia. Around 1840 the manufactory was shut down and the local metal works also saw a decline as a result of industrialisation of the Upper Silesian coalfield. Some of the inhabitants then moved out to seek work in the heart of the industrial area of Silesia.