On the northern headland of Ołowianka, there is a green walking and recreational space with alleys that occupies about 5,000 m2. This is the Gdańsk Manhole Avenue. We invite you on an unusual journey – through the present and the past, both of Poland and of various places in the world. A journey where we can step over manhole covers, silent witnesses to history.
A walk along the Avenue is an interesting complement to visits to the facilities of the Gdańsk Waterworks Trail. It is a free all-year exhibition sety into the urban space. The site has been tied to the history of the Gdańsk water supply and sewerage system for 150 years, as it was on Ołowianka Island that the first (1871) and still operational sewage pumping station in Gdańsk was established.
— ABOUT THE AVENUE
The Gdańsk Manhole Avenue was created in June 2021. It combines historical and educational values with natural features. New vegetation has been planted in the industrial, previously austere space, building a multi-species composition of coniferous and deciduous shrubs, ornamental grasses and flowers. Sewer manhole covers from Gdańsk and other cities have been built into the walking alleys.
The Avenue is divided into three parts: the avenue of vintage manhole covers, the avenue of contemporary Polish manhole covers and the avenue of foreign manhole covers. The vintage manhole covers come from the streets of Gdańsk, mainly from its boroughs: Wrzeszcz and Oliwa.
Currently, on the northern headland of Ołowianka, you can find dozens of manhole covers from Polish and foreign cities, including: Łódź, Olsztyn, Opole, Szczecin, Kielce, Kraków, Turku (Finland), Bremen (Germany) or Kharkiv (Ukraine).
— INTERACTIVE APP
The guide to the Gdańsk Manhole Avenue is an interactive app with augmented reality functionalities. It can be downloaded by scanning a QR code displayed on the starting wall of the Avenue. Using the app during the walk, you will be taken back to the time when the first modern sewer networks were built, learn interesting facts about the functioning of the sewer system and the principle of operation of the entire system.
The app, called ‘Gdańska Aleja Włazów’ (Gdańsk Manhole Avenue, is also available, free of charge, on Google Play (for Android devices) and App Store (for iOS devices).
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iOS
— INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MANHOLES AND SEWAGE SYSTEMS
You can discover the next waypoints along your walk by scanning the codes along the Manhole Avenue or using the app’s menu. However you do it, you will certainly be able to discover the secrets of the world of sewers. What secrets? We showcase examples of the interactions you will find in the app.
You will learn about the construction of a modern Gdańsk manhole by putting it together from a heap of puzzles
You will X-ray the pavement to see what the underground network looks like
You will meet and listen to Leopold von Winter, Oberbürgermeister of Gdańsk and the creator of modern sewage systems
You will play the Sewer Game by choosing what to put in the toilet and what to put in the trash can
You will design your own multi-coloured manhole – modelled on sewer covers from Japan.
