The Polish grain trade
Historical sources: http://spuscizna.org/spuscizna/grain-trade.html / http://countrystudies.us/poland/7.htm
After the Union of Krewe in 1385, which loosely united the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Poles and Lithuanians finally had the opportunity to develop their economies. A population boom in Western Europe prompted an increased demand for foodstuffs and Poland-Lithuania became Europe’s foremost supplier of grain. A lucrative agricultural export market became the foundation for Poland’s wealth and prosperity. Barges visited the grain warehouses erected along the Vistula River (Wisla) and transported the grain to Gdansk, where it was reloaded onto ships for transport across the Baltic Sea. Fortunes could be made, and lost, in the grain trade. This was Poland’s Golden Age.
Aside from swelling Polish coffers, the prosperous grain trade supported other notable aspects of national development. It reinforced the preeminence of the landowning nobility that received its profits, and it helped to preserve a traditionally rural society and economy at a time when Western Europe had begun moving toward urbanization and capitalism.
Granaries on the Brda
The characteristic wattle and daub buildings located by the Brda River are well-preserved granaries from the 19th century. Today, they function as museum presenting exhibitions of the Regional Museum that documents the history of the city.
The buildings have different heights, and one of them, the so-called Dutch is the lowest and is distinguished by a characteristic, strongly sloping roof. This is favorite granary of Bydgoszcz inhabitants. In front of it a small amphitheatre was built to perform various cultural events. The three preserved buildings used to function as grain storehouses, the first of which had been probably built around the 14th century.
Today, it is difficult to document the actual number of warehouses, however, it is known that in the middle of the last century, there were five of them on the Brda River. Two buildings burned down in 1960 in a fire.In the past, various materials were stored in the granaries, and after the grain, the time had come for silica and food products.
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The Grudziądz granaries
The granary buildings placed tightly next to each other between Water Gate and Castle Gate along the Vistula make the former defensive wall of 20 m in height
The history of the granaries dates back to the early Middle Ages. The oldest Bornwald’s Granary was built from 1346 to 1351. The next granaries were built in the period between 1364 and 1504 and the last ones in the 17th century. 16 granaries operated in that time and because of them, Grudziądz was an important commercial destination. The granaries had six stories on the outside and one to two inside. In 1659 most of them burnt and only six survived the Swedish Deluge. Part of them was rebuilt. Recreating their style was possible thanks to the use of original pieces of the wall.
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GRANARY ISLAND, GDANSK
Source: https://www.inyourpocket.com/gdansk/the-rebirth-of-granary-island_74397f
Granary Island was the centre of Danzig/Gdansk trade for centuries and a major source of the city’s historic wealth. The first building to be established on the island was a slaughterhouse in the first half of the 14th century close to the junction between ul. Chmielna and Podwale Przedmiejskie and these were joined over the next century by buildings such as Ash Manor (Polish Dwór Popielny; German Aschhof) and Tar Manor (Polish: Dwór Smolny; German Teerhof). Carpentry workshops, timber yards and quality control points for products such as hops, flak, hemp and tar grew up on the island as business developed.
In the early 16th century, increased exposure to attack and fire saw the construction of earth and wooden fortifications on the eastern side. These defences were supplemented by dog patrols earning them the name Dog Ramparts (Psi Wał) and were located near what is today ul. Motławska.
The New Motława canal was built in 1576 turning Granary Island into an actual island. By 1643 there were 315 granaries on the island capable of storing up to 250,000 tons of grain, servicing over 200 ships and which helped make Gdansk the largest harbour on the Baltic and one of Europe’s richest cities.
Some of the granaries had their own names with such colourful titles as Deo Gloria and Bear Dance. Some of these names lasted longer than the granaries themselves as by the 19th century warehousing had replaced some of the granaries but kept the historic names.
The island was virtually destroyed during WWII with just three of the buildings surviving. Of the three, Steffen, Deo Gloria and Wisłoujście, a building which had originally been called Blue Lamb (Polish Błękitny Baranek) date as far back as 1776. Most of the island remained a skeletal set of brick remains, although various developments have so far seen 36 restored.
For years plans to restore the ruined granaries repeatedly stalled. Finally plans were accepted to develop the area and as we went to press work had progressed well converting the area into a hotel with 180 rooms, 560 apartments, underground parking, restaurants, retail outlets, offices and a square. The development will also see new bridges built including one linking the waterfront opposite close to the Crane.
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Old Granary (‘Stary Spichlerz’), Plac Sikorskiego 6, Krakow
The historic, 17th-century granary, placed next to the monastery of the Capuchin Friars Minor order just outside the city walls of Krakow, in close proximity of the Main Square, was rebuilt many times. Initially, it was used as a granary. In the 19th century it was owned by the Jabłonowski family, and in 1905 it was sold to the city. Before World War II, it was the seat of the Architects’ Association, and in the 1960s it was handed over for perpetual use to the National Museum in Krakow as a warehouse of old furniture. After the renovation in 2013, a branch of the National Museum in Krakow was opened – the Center for European Culture ‘Europeum’, where works of European art are displayed, and it is now the Stanisław Wyspiański museum (Dec. 2021).
… and a good example of a Polish mill
Source: https://mlynomag.pl/en/history/
Młynomag Grodzki Mill
The Grodzki Mill has a history comparable to the oldest Polish castles or temples. The first written mentions of the mill in this place dates back to the end of the 14th century and could have existed there much earlier.
he first document mentioning the mill in our area dates back to 24 June 1370. It operated with breaks for many centuries, and despite temporary stagnation it never lost its usable character (after the war it served as a grain warehouse for a long time). It is one of the oldest mills of former East Prussia.
From the 17th century the mill was owned by private persons.
Subsequent entries are only visible a few hundred years later, and document the actions of subsequent owners. In 1864 the mill bought Adolf Gramberg for a tender. This is an important person in the history of the grain industry – he and his family made great contributions to the development of the milling industry in this area.
The Gramberg family successfully developed the mill when in 1898, the fire completely destroyed buildings and machines. The resourceful owners used this as an opportunity for development, purchasing modern equipment and expanding the infrastructure. The new mill had more rollers, larger warehouses and granaries. The mill’s power increased by 400%, reaching over 4000 tons of production per year. Turnover reached 200,000 brands per year. The Grambergs could be proud of themselves.
At the beginning of the 20th century, in 1901, the mill was inherited by the sons of the owner, Paul and Adolf Gramberg. The Grodzki Mill once again increased productivity, and was now the largest and most modern mill in East Prussia. The Reszel flour reached Kaliningrad, Rotterdam, the Ruhr, Westphalia, Rhineland, Baden and Wittenberg.
The beginning of the 1930s was a global crisis in almost every industry. It started on Wall Street, but quickly affected the food industry as well as the entire trade in general. The mill, however, worked continuously, and even recorded an increase in production – until the next fire in 1940. Reconstruction in wartime conditions was no longer as easy as before, and the plant suffered significant losses.
The beginning of the 1930s was a global crisis in almost every industry. It started on Wall Street, but quickly affected the food industry as well as the entire trade in general. The mill, however, worked continuously, and even recorded an increase in production – until the next fire in 1940. Reconstruction in wartime conditions was no longer as easy as before, and the plant suffered significant losses.
For over 50 years, the mill building served as a warehouse for Polish Grain Plants. In 1994 a new chapter in its history began, another beginning of its turbulent history. Młynomag company carries out a thorough renovation and assembles a modern wheat milling line. In 1995 the production of wheat flour began, and five years later – also rye flour.
Associated articles
A Day in the Life of the River Wisła
2017 marks the 550th anniversary of the first rafting on the Wisła river. The golden era for sailing the river, which started in 1467, brought about a period of prosperity for both Poland and Europe. Let’s take a journey back in time to the days when the Wisła was considered by some the most important river in the world.
Poland was said to be the ‘granary of Europe’ because it excelled in grain export. Rafters (flisaki in Polish) took care of transporting it down the river. Some see them as able-bodied mountaineers, who took the Wisła as their bride, others seek the patriotic soul of Polish noblemen in them. To fully understand these comparisons, let’s take a look at the typical day of a rafter.
Dawn
At dawn, the rafter boards his raft, just like his father and grandfather before him. He is dressed in a linen shirt girdled over his waist, hemp trousers, a hand-made overcoat called a płótnianka (probably made by his wife), a straw hat and is not wearing shoes. While waiting with his comrades, with a bundle of food on his back, for the boatman (retman), he quietly sings (editor’s translation):
The rafter’s wife,
has an easy home life,
While the poor rafter,
Works for bread ever after
Midday
Once the crew is complete and the grains loaded, the rafters embark on their journey up the Wisła towards Gdańsk. The sail-less ship is managed by a few boaters. Straw huts, accessible only on one’s knees, serve as beds, shelter from rain and storms and as a pantry. A typical rafter’s breakfast consists of black coffee and bread with lard or fiutka – overcooked potatoes with onion, parsley and pepper
Read more
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The Rise and Decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth due to Grain Trade – Krszytof Olszewski (PhD dissertation)
In this paper I present the cause of the rise and decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The main driving force was Polish grain trade over the Baltic. At the beginning, Polish grain was vital for Western Europe thus the Commonwealth was able to make significant profits and obtain economical growth. However, once the cultivation of grain was no longer profitable, the Commonwealth missed the opportunity to adopt its economy to the new situation and fell behind. I present the main political and sociological background that caused this process and give some facts on the town structure that also played an important role.
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