The title of the core exhibition, „The Kingdom of Iron” refers to the Royal Ironworks (Huta Królewska) which gave the name also to the city. It also shows the potential of the company – a milestone of the industrial revolution, and the city which grew in its neighbourhood.
Before one steps into our kingdom there is a prologue presenting the history of Kościuszko-Królewska and Batory-Bismarck steelworks as well as the other industrial companies that once operated in the city. The context of the crucial historical moments in the local and global industrial history is the frame for it.
We start visiting the permanent exhibition from the „Zone of life”. It presents the proces of designing, motivations for choosing one’s occupation in the stellworks and the ways to learn the job. The next steps leads us to the „Zone of work”. We can find out about the details of the hard job directly from the former workers. The recordings of their memories make the main plot of the exhibition. These small narrations are complemented with the biographies of ninth historical figures – the luminaries of the Upper Silesian steel industry.
The original machines are the anchor points in our route through the zone of work. You can not miss the 17 tons heavy bridge hammer or the spectacular fragment of the rolling mill with its fly-wheel of 6m diameter. It’s the oldest machine of „The Iron Kingdom”. The integral part of „The Zone of work” is the movie in our Cinema. The spherical screen displays the magnificent history of the metallurgy and the role of steel and iron – the material that built our world.
After hard work there is a time for the family and returning to „The Zone of life”. We can find the steelwrokers having fun, relaxing and celebrating. The closing feature of the exhibition is the scurptular instalation called „Post scriptum”. It’s artistic interpretation of what metallurgic industry was and how the raw materials and memories recirculate creating new meanings.
We didn’t forget about the youngest visitors. Przetopek – the friendly ghost will guide them through the Iron Kingdom and help to puzzle out many secrets and quizes.