Planty Salinarne in Bochnia is a unique park in Europe, established within the former salt mines. It has recently completed its revalorization, which included preserving the original layout and re-developing spaces that formerly served residents. Two Krakow-based studios—SANECCY and Autorska Pracownia Projektowa Jerzy Wowczak—are responsible for the project.
Several centuries ago, in the heart of Bochnia stood the Saltworks Castle, serving as the residence of Bochnia's salvagers. The magnificent, two-story building was equipped with towers with shooting towers and a castle chapel. Immediately in front of the fortified castle was the souper's square, where salt was traded. Although not much remains of the original castle structure, remnants of the entire foundation are still visible in the urban fabric of the downtown area. Their important element is the Salinar Planty, which was designed in 1868 by Karol Bauer, a landscape architect, naturalist and caretaker of the Lviv Botanical Garden.
Salinarne Planty in Bochnia
Photo: Rafał Barnaś © SANECCY | Autorska Pracownia Projektowa Jerzy Wowczak
Revitalization of the Salinarne Planty in Bochnia
In 2022, the city presented a concept for the revitalization of the Planty, the implementation of which was carried out using funds guaranteed by the Polish Deal. The work was planned on the basis of source materials that were obtained, among others, from the archives of the Bochnia Salt Mine and in cooperation with the Provincial Conservator of Monuments. The project, which combines conservation work with architectural interventions, included, among other things, renovation and revaluation of the former alleys and buildings of the Forge and Ice House, creation of new alleys and construction of a square in front of the aforementioned buildings, development of the fountain and work on greenery. What does the Salinar Planty in Bochnia look like now?
Salinarne Planty in Bochnia
Photo: Rafał Barnaś © SANECCY | Autorska Pracownia Projektowa Jerzy Wowczak
park in the city of salt
A significant challenge during the preparations for the revitalization of the Salinarne Planty was the attempt to preserve the park's former spatial layout. To this end, the architects referred to archival sources and numerous analyses.
The [...] was created on the basis of an analysis of archival documents, programs of restoration works and agreements with the Provincial Conservator of Monuments, dendrological inventory, dendrological evaluation performed by Katarzyna Fabijanowska and based on the Historical Drawing by Roman Marcinek. For the purposes of the project, an architectural inventory and a complementary greenery inventory, a historical analysis, a compositional analysis of historical phases, an analysis of the age stratigraphy of trees and greenery management were carried out.
- explain the authors of the project.
Based on surviving iconographic sources, the renovation of the former Forge and Ice House buildings was also carried out, and later additions were removed, restoring their original architectural expression. Conservation measures also included monuments located within the Park - including the Monument to the Deed of Independence, designed by Franciszek Mączyński, and the 20th-century sculpture depicting St. John of Nepomuk.
Saline Planty in Bochnia
Photo: Rafał Barnaś © SANECCY | Autorska Pracownia Projektowa Jerzy Wowczak
respecting the past
The architectural interference in the Salinarne Planty area in Bochnia also stems from the site's history. The authors planned new alleys, the course of which is inspired by the former layout designed by Karol Bauer and the course of Storynka - a stream that once drained the nearby Władysław shaft. Today Storynka flows through an underground channel, but its presence is marked by cutting through the Park with a central walking alley with a course analogous to the former stream bed.
Saline Planty in Bochnia
Photo: Rafał Barnaś © SANECCY | Autorska Pracownia Projektowa Jerzy Wowczak
A fountain with an island in the center
The designers also took into account the Salinarne ponds, created by damming up the waters of the stream and still used as bathing beaches in the early 20th century. Until last year, the site of the largest of these ponds had an off-limits playground. After the demolition, the architects decided to create a fountain in this place in the form of a shallow channel, the course of which refers to the shoreline of the former pond. Within the area defined by the fountain's elongated form was an island-like space with lawn and seating.
This procedure allowed for the purely conservationist authentication of an important architectural and landscape element, which was the once sizable pond located here, while making the space accessible and maintaining hygienic standards. The fountain, despite its sizable size, thanks to the fact that it is reconstructed only along the contour of the pond, does not require a very large, complex technical background. This is extremely important in the vicinity of historic monuments and old trees. As a result, in the field one can read the spatial relations and feel the character of the saline garden of the late 19th century.
- explain the architects.
Salinar Planty in Bochnia
Photo: Rafał Barnaś © SANECCY | Autorska Pracownia Projektowa Jerzy Wowczak
The location of the second of the Salinar ponds, which used to be located in the park, was made visible by the installation of a rain garden, designed to aid retention during heavy downpours.
Salinar Planty in Bochnia
Photo: Rafał Barnaś © SANECCY | Autorska Pracownia Projektowa Jerzy Wowczak
spectral square
The square in front of the former Forge building is also a new composition. It refers to the Stawisko Square that was once located here - today its area is partially overgrown with trees, so recreating it in its original boundaries would require cutting it down. The architects decided to use stone slabs overgrown with grass, which are irregularly distributed in front of the former Smithy.
The historic square, due to the transformation of the terrain and the succession of self-sown trees, is only symbolically reconstructed, adapting to the existing greenery, so the paved surface directly in front of the smithy building slowly dissolves into the greenery, in an attempt to reconcile the historic square with the current tree canopy.
- explain the project developers.
Salinar Planty in Bochnia
Photo: Rafał Barnaś © SANECCY | Autorska Pracownia Projektowa Jerzy Wowczak
An important part of the work carried out was also the replenishment of the greenery growing in the Planty. Again, the interventions were carried out based on historical accounts. The stand of trees was carefully examined, replacing diseased specimens with new plantings and supplementing low greenery.
