Before renovation
The industrial development of Silesia and the increase in population necessitated the provision of a comprehensive transport network in the area. The first station on the Wrocław-Mysłowice route, in the form of a neoclassical building in Chebz, a district of Ruda Śląska, was built in 1847, serving as the main station in the area. Due to heavy traffic, the construction of a new station complex began in 1897. The plans of 1901 already show a shaped complex of buildings including the main building, post office, administration, workshop and platform buildings. The first passenger train between Kędzierzyn and Mysłowice was served on 1 October 1899.
It should be noted that the most characteristic element of the station buildings in Chebzie is the railway station building. The façade of the building was made in the form of a pseudo-Prussian wall founded on a steel grate filled with facing bricks. The decorative elements are made of different coloured bricks dominated by red and white-green façade ornaments. The front is festooned with a large window providing light to the interior of the waiting area. The window is made of thick riveted metal structural elements and smaller, fine metal muntins, which form a harmonious whole, combining solidity and lightness, emphasised by the grid of panes and the centrally placed circular clock. The station building was abandoned in the 1990s, which had an overwhelming effect on the level of deterioration of the building.
After revitalisation
Following the purchase of the building by the City of Ruda Śląska and its status as a technical monument in 2016, renovation and adaptation work carried out for the library began. In its new formula, the historic building of the railway station building, in addition to its obvious transport function, gained a cultural function, becoming the seat of the largest cultural institution in the city, the Ruda Bookstore. However, the facility’s activities are not limited to its library function. In terms of animation, exhibitions, theatre performances, workshops, author meetings and activities for schoolchildren and children are organised. The facility is a friend of the Route of Industrial Monuments.
