Funkcjonowanie hotelu w obiekcie zabytkowym na przykładzie „Starego Młyna” w Bolesławcu

Abstract

Conversion of historical buildings into hotel facilities appears as a marked trend in global hotel industry (Milewska, Włodarczyk 2005). This paper, based on author’s Master’s thesis, describes a case study of “Hotel Stary Młyn” in Bolesławiec that exemplifies this global tendency at a local scale. The main aim of this study is to present specific character of the hotel established in a historical building. In particular, this study aims at: – presenting legal restrictions on development of hotel services within a hi-storical building (which is a listed monument); – reconstructing the process of conversion of a historic building into a hotel; – describing the product (hospitality services) offered by the hotel concerned; – defining the influence of the contemporary function of the historical building (regarded as an element of local cultural heritage) on local community’s life. The subject of this study is the “Hotel Stary Młyn” (“The Old Mill Hotel”) in Bolesławiec upon Prosna (province of Łódź). The hotel was established in a wooden 16th-century water mill, which is the oldest monument of this kind in the province of Łódź. Its adaptation for the purpose of hotel & restaurant was part of an ambitious project which was carried out in late 1970s. The project aimed at creating in Bolesławiec a complex of historic buildings and recreational facilities. The mill was then thoroughly restored and adapted for budget accommodation of low standard. In the 1990s it became the property of its present owner, and since then its services have been adjusted to the needs of institutional clients interested in organising seminars, conferences and socializing events for their employees. This paper includes a detailed description of services available in “Stary Młyn”. It was found that there is a bidirectional relation between historic building within which the hotel functions and the product of the hotel. The conversion and re-use of the historic building as a hotel have great influence on its appearance and state of preservation. The historical building clearly determines specific features of the hotel’s product (services). On the other hand, however, some features of the historical building, e.g. architectural barriers, may cause considerable difficulties, which possibly translate into deterioration of the quality of its services. Nevertheless, the case of “Stary Młyn” proves that conversion of a historical building into a hotel represent a unique chance to regain its glory. Included in this paper are also results of a questionnaire survey carried out by the author using a group of 162 local inhabitants. Its purpose was to assess the importance of the “Stary Młyn” hotel for members of the local community. The respondents were questioned about basic facts concerning the hotel, if any changes in their lives were produced by the present function of the historical building, what is their attitude towards commercial re-use of the element of their cultural heritage, if they frequent the hotel and what kind of services they use. The survey reveals that the conversion into a hotel greatly increased the importance of the historical building for the local community. Most of the respondents gave correct answers to the questions about the hotel name, date of conversion and the building’s original function. 119 out of 162 respondents visited the hotel at least once. 70% of those guestioned approved of the idea of re-using the historical building as a hotel. The most common reason they gave to motivate their positive attitude was that this is the only chance to rescue the monument from falling into ruin. The sample noticed numerous changes in their lives which resulted from the conversion of the mill into a hotel. Although both positive and negative changes have been mentioned, the positive ones were predominant. According to those questioned, the most noticeable change consists in the increase of their pride of living in Bolesławiec. Moreover, not only does the function of a hotel add to the prestige of the village, but also it heightens the inhabitants’ awareness of the value of local heritage. The influence of the hotel on local economy is rather insignificant, neverthe-less some inhabitants mentioned its positive role in reducing the unemployment rate. Among negative changes, the most noticeable was the increase of the noise and other environmental pollution. The respondents also suggested other possible ways of re-using this part of their heritage, opting for social, rather than commercial usage.