Revitalisation of the Malbork City Centre

The implementation of this project will change the appearance of streets and backyards, create more areas for leisure time activities as well as spaces for conducting social initiatives aimed at youth and children. All initiatives included in the revitalisation project will involve residents’ participation. The residents will participate in the process of developing initiatives aiming to integrate actions that benefit the local community, local spaces and the local economy. This will facilitate greater integration among the residents and re-establish a sense of social and community ties.

What Will Be Created and When?

1.  What takes priority is the development and preparation of interiors and suitable conditions for implementation of social work initiatives aimed at children and families. Thanks to combining these projects more than 100 persons residing in the area under revitalisation will receive specialist assistance, counselling services, so-called „backyard work” social work as well as activities that aim to develop key competences, that strengthen family ties. Currently, building adaptation and refurbishment of two historical buildings is underway. The first of them – with a surface of 200 m2 in 43 Sienkiewicza Street will be adapted to the new role of performing the tasks of a daily support centre, following the formula of care work and specialist counselling, as well as a counselling centre for parents. As part of the project building renovation will be carried out, along with the purchase of suitable equipment. The building will comply with accessibility requirements for the disabled. Another building, constructed in 1905, is a water tower which originated as part of the plumbing installation in the city, and which survived in its unaltered shape up until the present. Four-storey building with a surface of 300 m2, will be adapted to the new role of performing the tasks of a daily support centre, following the formula of the so-called „backyard work” social work with a centre for ‘streetworkers’ and ‘partyworkers’ and a youth club. At the top level there will be a lookout point and a cafe with an art gallery. There are also plans for a portable form of the centre (tents will be purchased to this purpose). The scope of the work in the building anticipates lifts, sanitation and water-sewage installations, as well as heating and equipment and also development of approximately 1 hectare of surrounding land. The centres will open in 2019.
2. As part of the investment component renovations will be carried out on the shared sections of 41 municipal housing units and 10 municipal buildings as well as their backyards in the city quarter which includes Sienkiewicza, Orzeszkowej, Reymonta, Sikorskiego, 17 Marca, Grunwaldzka, Jagiellońska, Żeromskiego Streets. Renovations of the facades will be carried out, the backyards and surrounding spaces will be redeveloped by means of paving the pathways, the lighting system will be improved and the development of the backyard green areas will take place. An important component at this stage of the project are the partnerships with the communities, which will facilitate including the residents in the changes to the appearance of their environment as well as ensure their active participation in that process. The initiatives will be preceded by workshops, during which residents in conjunction with experts will work on their ideas on how best to arrange and redevelop the neglected spaces.
3. Thanks to the project the look of the spaces and squares will be upgraded, and in the process of the make-over, they will become adapted to hosting social and cultural initiatives conducted by the local community. Many of these spatial initiatives involve the rich history of Malbork linked with the castle of the Teutonic Order, but not only. As an example of the above is a planned history trail – a walk-about that follows the most important streets and squares located in the area under revitalisation, with information boards referring to the historical significance of buildings which form part of the city’s cultural heritage. Elements of visual information in the form of Fotoplastikons, which by means of a dynamo generator set in motion a system of rotating slides depicting historical places and buildings, will be installed on various items of street furniture. This initiative will reinforce the need for building an identity among the residents and will also serve as an excellent marketing tool for the city, encouraging tourists to visit a forgotten area of Malbork.

The historical character of the place will be preserved with regard to the redevelopment of the central part of the revitalisation area – the Plac 3 Maja Square and Grunwaldzka Street, as well as a square in Reymont Street. This space, partially arranged as a pedestrian-only area, will become an inviting landmark for meetings, summer cafes, events run by the local community, hereby increasing the number of sites for leisure activity and serving to integrate the residents.