Fragments of old horsecar depot discovered in Warsaw
The remains of a 19th-century depot for horse-drawn trams were discovered during construction works on a new tramline leading along Pulawska Street to the Wilanow district of Warsaw.
The old Mokotów depot was an important element of urban transport in Warsaw in the 19th and 20th centuries, according to the spokesman for the Warsaw Trams, Maciej Dutkiewicz.
The depot was built in 1881 to service the horse-drawn trams of the Belgian company Societe Generale de Tramways Varsoviens, built as a private, licensed investment. With the electrification of the tram network in 1908, the depot was expanded, and in 1916, its area was included in the precincts of the capital, Dutkiewicz said.
He explained that World War Two caused serious damage to the depot building, but it was partially rebuilt in 1945.
Ten years later, the process of gradual relocation of the depot to a new site started. The former facility was liquidated in stages and in 1966 the Pulawska Financial Centre was erected on the site of the former "Mokotów" depot.
According to Dutkiewicz, the remains discovered by employees working on a new tramline to Wilanów could be a fragment of an old "horse" hall or an administrative building.
