In the area of today's Wesola there was already a settlement in the Middle Ages, and later an economic suburb by the St. Nicholas Church. Since the 16th century, noble, church and bourgeois residences and gardens were located here. In the 17th century a monastery of the Discalced Carmelites was founded. In 1779 a botanical garden was created on the basis of an earlier foundation. A new chapter was the location of the University Hospital along today's Kopernika Street.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the tower of the Jesuit Basilica became the dominant feature of Wesola. Thanks to the accumulation of new functions and assumptions, while maintaining the garden character of the eastern part of the area, a unique district was created, whose character is formed by extensive green areas, pavilion-like buildings of clinics, palaces and villas, and churches. At the same time, despite its central location, due to its functions, small number of streets and pedestrian routes, partial fencing and being cut off from the east by the busy Warsaw Uprising Avenue, Wesoła remained somewhat isolated from the rest of downtown.
The Zofiówka palace, belonging to the Jesuits - an example of Wesoła's residential development
photo: Pawel Halat
hospital moves out, city waits
The topic of developing these areas appeared nearly a decade ago, along with plans to build a new University Hospital in Prokocim. Even then it was assumed that the construction of the new facility would involve abandoning most of the historic clinics. In 2010, a study competition for the development of an urban concept for the Wesola area - between Lubicz, Grzegórzecka, Warsaw Uprising Avenue and Planty streets - was decided. Two second prizes (the first one was not awarded) went to large Krakow studios, including the Krakow Development Office managed by the later vice-president of the city Elżbieta Koterba. The regulations of the competition emphasized that the proximity of the Old Town and the transportation center make the area extremely attractive for new functions - and participants were also expected to indicate them. According to the regulations, the competition was to be the basis for the formulation of assumptions for the future local plan, but at the time it was not started. This is not an isolated problem, by the way - for most of the areas comprising the ring of nineteenth-century buildings around the Old Town, they are being processed only now.
Meanwhile, Jagiellonian University was preparing an investment in Prokocim. In 2011, a building permit was obtained for the new hospital, in 2014 tender procedures began, and a year later the contract for the project was signed, according to which construction was to be completed in April 2019. The cost of building and equipping the facility was estimated at about PLN 1.2 billion. Under the multi-year government program, the Ministry of Health allocated less than PLN 800 million. Further funds (60 million from EU funds) were promised by the Malopolska Region. Thus, there was a shortfall of about PLN 200 million to fully fund the investment. Already at that time, press releases said that after the grant funds were exhausted, it was planned to use funds from, among other things, "commercial development of land in the area of Kopernika Street."
we plan, but too late
The topic resurfaced in late 2017, when the hospital building was almost nearing completion, and local media reported that UJ-otuwas negotiating with the government to raise funds to equip and move to a new facility. The university, in exchange for further investment funding, wanted to hand over the historic clinic, valued at about PLN 400 million, which would become the headquarters of government offices and institutions.
Interwar gynecology clinic
Photo: Pawel Halat
Unfortunately, in view of the government's lack of interest in taking over the clinics, the threat of parceling out valuable land in the center of Krakow has become real. Not only the historic buildings of the clinics, but, above all, the extensive undeveloped areas, which, together with the neighboring botanical garden, constitute one of the largest dense green areas in the center of Krakow, are a greedy morsel. In February 2018, the procedure for preparing a development plan for Wesoła was launched. Initially, it was supervised by... Elżbieta Koterba - the author of the award-winning competition concept and, for several years, vice mayor of Krakow.
colors of the campaign
In May 2018, the topic of Wesoła was taken up by the Jagiellonian Club, a Krakow think tank with ties to the ruling party's environment, proposing that the post-clinic land be bought by the city or a state entity. A few months later, KJ experts sent an appeal to the Prime Minister's Office asking for the establishment of a special-purpose company to take over and develop the post-hospital property. The story accelerated during the campaign before the local elections. Development of the site turned out to be one of its main topics. A month before the elections, the hospital management signed a letter of intent to buy Wesola with Polski Holding Nieruchomości - in the presence of Law and Justice candidate for mayor Małgorzata Wassermann. PHN's proposals differed significantly from how residents imagined Wesoła. The state-owned developer proposed a giant convention center, hotels and offices. The project surprised with the scale of the development, the tourist monofunctionality and the nonchalant approach to the area's transportation capacity.
A completely different vision for the district was held by the second of the candidates for mayor, Lukasz Gibala, who declared, if he won, that the city would buy the area and install a Krakow Central Park. The vision, although somewhat populist (even existing buildings were covered with greenery in the visualizations), was more in line with public expectations. In the final pre-election straight, Mayor Jacek Majchrowski joined the game, declaring that if he won, he would decide that the city would buy the land in order to... prevent development by PHN. The promise was upheld after he won the election, but the deal was not completed until October 2019. At the same time, work continues on the development plan.
what did we actually buy?
The question quickly arose: what did we actually buy in a deal worth more than PLN 280 million? A legitimate question, since the city had been reluctant to share information about its coverage until the purchase. Judging from the comments, many residents and even councilors were convinced that the city would buy the entire post-hospital area, and certainly the areas that were presented as green in successive MPZP concepts. It turned out that the subject of the deal was only the nine-hectare portion located west of Sniadeckich Street. Thus, the city purchased the most difficult to develop plots of land, with more than a dozen historic buildings (including... a church at the former Carmelite monastery). In the hands of the university, however, the extensive green areas around the post-war ENT and internal medicine clinics remained.
Sniadeckich Street
Photo: Paweł Hałat
The latest concept of the MPZP proposed incorporating most of these areas (4.1 hectares, including some plots belonging to the Academy of Physical Education) into a botanical garden. In contrast, a 2.6-hectare"historical garden" was designated on city-owned land, intended to relate to Wesola's former function. Thus, while the residents' expectation that most of the land should remain green is formally met, given the realities of the botanical garden's operation (ticketed and inaccessible for much of the year) and the limitations associated with the "historicity" of the other gardens, it is difficult to see in these concepts the sprawling, modern park envisioned when Wesoola was purchased.
Internal diseases clinic, according to the MPZP project, the botanical garden would be expanded by this area
photo: Paweł Hałat
Another issue is the financing of the investment, especially in view of the cuts in the city's budget and the already massive amount set aside for the purchase of the land. It is not known what reclamation measures are needed on the post-hospital grounds, and whether the city will seek to raise funds for them from the state budget. There is also no information so far about the inclusion of Wesoła in the revitalization program (although it is defined as a degraded area), which would give the city not only opportunities to raise additional money, but also tools to reduce gentrification in the area. Already in February 2019, a company called "City Development Agency Investments" has been set up to handle the development of Wesoła - including earning money by renting out parts of the buildings.
Why do we need this Wesoła?
Equally serious doubts are raised about the functions of existing and potential buildings. The introduction of new residential development is controversial. On the one hand, it is argued that the area must not die out in the evenings, on the other - that a cluster of apartments for short-term rental rather than apartments would be more likely in such a place. The basic issue remains the development of historic clinical facilities, from which hospital departments will gradually move out. Ideas to locate offices in historic buildings seem to be a misunderstanding. After all, the premise of the buyout was that the area should serve the city's residents and be as open to the surrounding area as possible.
surgery clinic so-called red surgery
photo: Paweł Hałat
Competition entries from a decade ago assumed that Wesoła should become a cultural cluster - and such a vision seems most attractive. The situation is complicated by the fact that in the years since the competition, the city has invested or prepared investments in other areas of Krakow for most of its cultural institutions. Potential tenants could include institutions such as the Polish Academy of Sciences - which has significant natural history collections scattered across several museums. Partnerships with private institutions (galleries, clubs, studio cinemas, etc.) or collectors could also be interesting. This is important because independent cultural initiatives in downtown Krakow are losing the rental competition with hotels or restaurants. An improved version of the famous Lower Mills could be an attractive vision - this time with the dominance of cultural and social functions, rather than gastronomy and entertainment. Such a scenario, however, would require the development of clear conditions for the operation of the area, so that it would not be a nuisance to neighboring residential areas.
What's next?
In Wesola, then, we have had half a success. In terms of spatial planning, the pattern of "doing the minimum" has been broken, and with the acquired land it is possible to pursue an active policy of space management in the downtown area. It seems that it will be possible to save the district from uncontrolled development. This art failed in another important area - the so-called "New Town" located on both sides of the main railway station, where vast post-military areas were built up with gated housing estates. However, no idea or strategy for the use of the sites can be seen, and the historic buildings seem to be a nuisance rather than a potential for the city. One looks in vain for information on what functions the city proposes for the acquired buildings, how it wants to select them and select tenants. There are also no signs that the city wants to work out such a strategy with residents. Perhaps such a dialogue will begin, but it is just as likely that bewildered Cracovians will simply be presented with a list of institutions that will get a seat "on the green Wesola."
Preventing such a scenario is a group of eleven NGOs, which has prepared a joint application to the Mayor of Krakow for public consultations for Wesoła. The consultations are to include, among other things, participatory planning and open meetings with residents and experts. The purpose of the consultations is to develop a socially acceptable functional plan and a multi-year program for the development and revitalization of post-hospital areas and buildings, specifying the use and principles on which buildings will be leased or sold. This is guided by the belief that an area as unique as Wesoła should be the subject of a planning process involving all stakeholders, rather than the findings of a narrow group of decision-makers.
