Fire and Water
The exceptional exhibitions are devoted to fire-fighting and the city waterworks. The former was prepared in the Spring 2004 on the occasion of 140th anniversary of the Bielsko-Biała Volunteer Fire Department. The Museum presents its own collection as well as souvenirs belonging to local headquarters of the National Fire Service, to Volunteer Fire Department from different city districts, as well as to private individuals. The largest exhibits are two horse-drawn carriages and the interwar sleighs equipped with fire hoses. In two showcases there are archival photographs (originals and replicas) showing fire stations in Bielsko and Biała, portraits of fire chiefs, a group of fire-fighters, emblems and badges, documents etc. Next, there are souvenirs connected with fire stations in Komorowice, Bystra, Lipnik, Leszczyny, Hałcnów and Straconka. The Exhibition is completed by OSP (Volunteer Fire Department) units’ banners, fire-fighting and life-saving equipment, a collection of nozzles, helmets and belts.
The exhibition devoted to the history of water supply to Bielsko-Biała is the most recent one (November 2005). It was prepared on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of Bielsko waterworks launch. One can find here many original technical drawings dating back to the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Kept in the AQUA S.A. Company in Bielsko-Biała this is the first time they have been presented to the public. The drawings are: never executed Bielsko-Biała waterworks project by engineer Grahn (1887) with the aim to build water intake on the River Soła in Kęty-Podlasie, the project of waterworks for the City of Biała with water intake in Straconka by engineer Pfister (1898), and the project of the dam in Wapienica by Dyckerhoff & Widmann company (1927). The technical drawings are complemented by various postcards, photos and archives available thanks to National Archives in Katowice, Bielsko-Biała branch as well as a few old water meters.
Read more about this topic: Museum Of Technology And Textile Industry
Famous quotes containing the words fire and/or water:
“The Apache have a legend that the coyote brought them fire and that the bear in his hibernations communes with the spirits of the “overworld” and later imparts the wisdom gained thereby to the medicine men.”
—Administration in the State of Arizona, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“As must have rung the harvest-song of Linos
Of bloody water in a heap of stones.”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)