HI-story
Capital of Poland
Songs
Opole, known for its music festivals as the Capital of Polish Song, is also the hub of Polish cement production.
After World War II, the Cement Industry Technical School, and from 1957 the Building Materials Industry Technical School, was the only institution in Poland training technologists for cement plants, lime factories, and the construction industry.
In 1957, the Technical School opened a new dormitory for students from all over Poland, accommodating a total of 500 students in 4-6 person rooms. Over time, under the new management of the Electrical Schools Complex in Opole, the dormitory was transformed into a boarding house that welcomed students from various schools in Opole.
In 2000, the Opole "Elektryczniak" (as the Electrical Schools Complex was called) ceased operating the boarding house. The building was taken over by the Opole University of Technology, which lacked sufficient dormitory spaces, and the impressive building on Struga Street was converted into the "Archimedes" Student Dormitory.
Over time, however, the demographic decline affected higher education institutions, and the building was abandoned. The deteriorating technical condition of the former boarding house led to such a state of disrepair that the doors of the former dormitory, and later the Student Boarding House, were permanently closed.
The former Technical School still exists in the neighboring building, now operating as the Stanisław Staszic Vocational Schools Complex. However, in 2009, the Boarding House building was taken over by the City Authorities of Opole, who initially planned to expand it with two additional floors. Nearly the entire City Hall was supposed to move there. However, these plans fell through, and the building was put up for sale.
