A wooden crossing that enabled travel from the city center of Kalisz westward. It was built at the end of the 19th century, allowing communication between downtown Kalisz, the Jewish district that had existed since the Middle Ages, and Piskorzewie, which was also partly inhabited by a Jewish population. It was dismantled during World War II by the Germans, who at the same time filled in the Babinka Canal.

(more information under the photos

Bridge over the Babinka Canal on Narutowicza and Wodna Streets 1911 r. Source: Muzea Wielkopolski, MOZK.

 Bridge over the Babinka Canal on Narutowicza and Wodna Streets. Source: archiwum M.Kurzajczyka.

Bridge over the Babinka Canal on Narutowicza and Wodna Streets, 1915-1916 rok. Source: Muzea Wielkopolski, MOZK.

Bridge over the Babinka Canal on Narutowicza and Wodna Streets. Sourec: www.kalisz czasemmalowany.pl

Bridge over the Babinka Canal on Narutowicza and Wodna Streets, 1915-1916 rok.

Source: Muzea Wielkopolski, MOZK, autor Witold Wardęski.

Bridge over the Babinka Canal on Narutowicza and Wodna Streets. Source: Archiwum Państwowe w Kaliszu.

One of five bridges across the Babinka Canal - a branch of the Prosna River (look for a separate plaque about it). It was called the Ogrodowski Bridge, named after the street that led to it from the city center. It was located just ahead of where the waters of Babinka flowed into the main river. It may have replaced a footbridge that had previously stood there. It formed an important part of the route marked by Ogrodowska and Wodna Streets, leading from the chartered city toward the Jewish district, to the edge of Piskorzewie, and from there – probably across a ford in the Prosna – to the then-village of Ogrody. Over its more than 50 years of use, the bridge was partially rebuilt when, among other repairs, its side railings were replaced. The existence of this wooden, though fairly wide, crossing became unnecessary after the Babinka was filled in 1941, and the bridge was subsequently dismantled. Information about the other four bridges over Babinka that were also removed can be found on Złota Street, Kanonicka Street, Kilińskiego Square, and in Aleja Walecznych in the park.

This three-span bridge was built during the city’s expansion toward the northwest. At that time, buildings were constructed outside the city walls and beyond the Babinka Canal, which served as a moat. The bridge was fairly wide, several meters long, and its sides were secured with wooden openwork railings. From the city center, Ogrodowska Street (renamed Narutowicza in 1932) led up to it; beyond it began Wodna Street.

Those crossing from the city center could admire the architecture of the “The Angel House” (Dom pod Aniołami), located on an island in the Prosna River. Just past the bridge, on the right, was Babina Street, whose buildings in this area were dominated by Jewish tenement houses and a former barracks building (erroneously called Godebski Barracks). Nearby, in the early 20th century, there was a popular house of pleasure. Between 1905 and 1907 locals tried drive away the “ladies” and the orchestra. The mosaic of interesting businesses and institutions around the bridge also included bathhouses – among them the so-called “soldiers' bath,” a house that hosted the Russian military orchestra, the office of renowned city historian Adam Chodyński, and the temporary location of the Trade School. At the intersection of today's Narutowicza and Parczewskiego Streets, small remnants of medieval defensive walls have been preserved (they remained there in fragments until the 1960s).

The crossing provided the shortest route for pedestrians and horse-drawn carts heading toward the village of Ogrody, which eventually became a suburb. From the early 20th century, it also enabled access to factories developing in the Piskorzewie district – especially the Fulde and Fried tanneries, lace and embroidery factories of Kunig and Majzner, and the largest of them all - the Müller brothers' plush factory. This route was used by Kalisz residents visiting relatives in the Evangelical elderly shelter on Litewska Street, as well as by soldiers marching to the nearby barracks for training. In the interwar period, film enthusiasts also used the bridge to get to the “Słońce” cinema on Wodna Street. After the Babinka Canal was filled in between 1941–1942, the bridge was dismantled.

Author of the text:

Piotr Sobolewski

Project partner

Archiwum Państwowe w Kaliszu 

Muzeum Okręgowe Ziemii Kaliskiej