In Rybnik, they are renovating and adapting another building from the historic complex of the former Julius Roger City Hospital to its new function. This is the "Julius" pavilion, which will house the region's first natural-humanities education center dedicated to the cultural heritage of Rybnik and Upper Silesia. The work is being carried out as part of a major revitalization project called "Julius Zone," which involves arranging historic spaces into places conducive to local community activity, education, as well as economic development.
The authorities of Rybnik have announced the awarding of a tender for the modernization and adaptation to a new function of the "Juliusz " pavilion - one of the buildings forming the historic complex of the former Juliusz Roger Municipal Hospital. Construction work will be carried out by the GRANI-TEC company from Rybnik, which has submitted the most favorable offer, with a value of just over PLN 7.4 million. According to the provisions of the contract, the modernization of the building is to be carried out within a year from the date of the agreement, which means that as early as next year the building could be ready to perform its new function.
space full of revitalization potential
The Julius Roger Hospital complex was built at the turn of the 20th century. It consists of four edifices located between City, Klasztorna and 3 Maja Streets: the "Julius" pavilion, the "Rafal" pavilion, the building of the former dermatology department and the former emergency room.
All the buildings in the complex will be renovated and adapted to new functions as part of a large revitalization and city-building project called "JuliusZone", which was prepared by the Rybnik City Hall. It is a project that assumes the combination of various functionalities of historic post-hospital buildings, subjected to renovation, and modern service and administrative infrastructure.
It is worth knowing that the originator of the hospital's construction was Julius Roger, a German-born physician who became famous in the Upper Silesia region not only as a doctor, but also as an entomologist, naturalist and ethnographer. It was he who wrote down a huge collection of Polish songs of the Upper Silesian people. To this day he is a figure who is an inspiration for many regional initiatives, including the "Julius Zone" project.
We are restoring a historic architectural complex to the city, giving it attractive functionality and referring to the historical figure of Julius Roger. We are creating a multi-generational activity zone in downtown Rybnik, combining the educational part with the Family Support Center, the newly established Rybnik Geriatric Center "Roger", the innovative business service center "Weber Park" and the rebuilt balneopark - Priessnitz baths, " reads the catalog dedicated to the project.
Proposed plan of the "Julius Zone"
© UM Rybnik
The key investment of the renovated "Julius Zone" is Rybnik Geriatric Center "Roger" . The new building will house the elderly, and all apartments will have permanent medical care. A Regional Telemedicine Center, a Care and Treatment Facility and a kindergarten will also operate here. The Julius Zone will also be home to "Weber Park ," the only A-standard office building in the western subregion of the Silesian province.
The complex of historic buildings of the former Juliusz Roger Hospital in Rybnik before the start of renovation works
© UM Rybnik
The main goals of this initiative are to create meeting, educational and support spaces needed by the city and its residents, as well as to use the potential of the historic and in recent years undeveloped complex of buildings. The creation of the "Julius Zone," of course, is also expected to have a positive impact on the external image of the city - as a place aimed at progressive activities, where investment is worthwhile. The implementation of the project is also expected to change the perception of Rybnik in the eyes of residents to a more positive one, closer to the people. Undoubtedly, this is a project with a strong pro-social character. You can read more about it here.
region's first nature and education center
"Julius" is one of the largest and oldest historic buildings that make up the complex.
The planned works at the "Julius" pavilion include demolition, construction, elevation works, along with the installation of window frames and temporary exterior doors, and the construction of a water and sewage connection. All this as part of the adaptation of the building to the function of a natural-humanities educatorium, incidentally the first such place in the region, which will present both the history and natural values of the city and the region.
An educational center will be created in the historic "Julius" building, where natural knowledge will be presented in a form that allows direct observation and experience. Children, teenagers and adults will be able to explore the fascinating mysteries of nature and man, the project description reads.
The "Juliusz" pavilion before the works began
© UM Rybnik
"Julius" is another building from the complex of the former city hospital, which will undergo revitalization and become part of the "Julius Zone". In 2020, this process was successfully carried out in the "Rafal" pavilion, where an exhibition space was created here, which will be filled in the future with an exposition illustrating the history of medicine and pharmacy. The cost of modernizing the building is more than PLN 8.9 million, of which PLN 5.5 million came from the European Union.
The "Rafal" building after renovation works
© UM Rybnik
