The History of the Bojańczyk Family

The history of the Bojańczyk family, whose members had built the famous Brewery in Włocławek, dates back to the first half of the 19th century.

Right from the beginning of its existence, the Brewery played a vital role in the life of the town. Over the century of its operation, the beer manufacturing plant founded by Kazimierz Bojańczyk around 1840 shaped the industrial landscape of Włocławek and set the trends and pace for the development of beer brewing in the region.

Kazimierz Bojańczyk started building up his fortune from scratch, as a simple craftsman. He leased a brewery in 1832 and started his own one eight years later. One of his sons, Rafał, multiplied his assets and passed them on to his sons: Wincenty (the brewery) and Leon (the brickworks). Wincenty Bojańczyk continued his father’s success in beer brewing. He was also a distinguished social activist and co-founder of the Włocławek Fire Brigade (1874). The historic Fire Station today houses one of the clubs that belong to Browar B. Cultural Centre (Stara Remiza [The Old Fire Station] Club).

The brewery was inherited from Wincenty by his daughter and his son, Jerzy Bojańczyk, who was the last owner of the brewery. The company’s prosperity was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I, the difficult interwar years and the economic crisis. Jerzy Bojańczyk undertook several attempts to save his brewery, yet it eventually went out of business in 1937.

The four generations of the Bojańczyk family were commemorated in the history of Włocławek not only as efficient entrepreneurs. They were a family of nineteenth-century industrialists, social activists, owners of big factories and a number of buildings. The Bojańczyks left their mark on multiple areas and matters essential to the town and its people. The fields of their activity included, but were not limited to, the Town Council, the Włocławek Fire Brigade, the War Emergency Service for Kuyavia Land, a number of associations dedicated to business, church, sports, the construction of a bridge over the Vistula or establishing new schools in the town.  

Just as the brewery shaped the industrial profile of Włocławek in the past, Browar B. shapes the town’s cultural life today. In doing so, the Cultural Centre uses its best efforts to keep the local community aware of the history of the place, believing it to be inseparable from the present times.