A MODERN TOWN
From the events of the Royal Free Town of Podgórze 1784–1915

In the 19^th century, the streets in Podgórze were lit with oil and gas lamps. However, the real glow in the town appeared in 1900 together with the opening of the municipal electricity generating plant on Nadwiślańska Street. The buildings of the plant contained a set of generators, accumulators, a boiler room and residential parts. Construction of the complex was supervised by Antoni Friedrich, the director of the electricity generating plant in Płaszow. The plant's equipment was supplied by the Františka Křižíka firm from Prague, known for the investment in Płaszow and the electricity generating plant by the Town Theatre in Kraków. The plant supplied electricity to enterprises, public buildings and houses in Podgórze. After 1915, it was connected with Kraków's electricity generating plant, which took on the role of the main supplier of electricity. The enterprise was finally closed in 1926, with the building being turned into the Municipal Shelter for the Homeless. The adaptation project of the plant into a night shelter was prepared by Jan Rzymkowski.