The station's construction was initiated by the Polish Academy of Sciences in anticipation of the Third International Geophysical Year. In 1956, a small reconnaissance team led by Stanisław Siedlecki-a distinguished geologist, mountaineer, and polar explorer-approved the station' s location. Just a year later, a larger group launched construction work on the island.

The latest stereophotograph exhibition at the Poznań Fotoplastykon documents this very first year-round expedition to Spitsbergen in 1957-1958. The team included seasoned polar researchers alongside numerous technical staff tasked with building the station.

While a trip to Spitsbergen might sound like an exciting adventure, one must not forget the hard work the team undertook to establish a year-round facility in the challenging Arctic environment. Their first job was to unload and move about 400 tons of supplies and materials brought to Spitsbergen aboard the ships Bałtyk and Ustka. The photos capture the unloading of crates and fuel barrels, the clearing of makeshift roads, and equipment transfer onto smaller vessels. Some of the stereophotographs also portray the researchers' daily routines-conducting meteorological and geological measurements, preparing for expeditions, and eagerly awaiting radio messages from home. Particularly interesting are images of the station itself, which at the time was a modest facility comprising 10 single rooms, a laboratory, a radio station, a kitchen, a dining room, and a bathroom.

These archival images were captured by Andrzej Zawada, at the time a young technician at the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, later to be known as a pioneer of winter high-altitude climbing. The collection has been generously provided by the Warsaw Fotoplastykon.

Today, the Stanisław Siedlecki Polish Polar Station in Hornsund stands as a model European research platform. Thanks to decades of collaboration between Polish scientists and international research institutes, the Hornsund fjord area has become one of the most thoroughly studied regions of the Arctic. Its unique beauty and the work of modern scientists are vividly portrayed in photographs by Dr. Tomasz Wawrzyniak of the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

translation: Krzysztof Kotkowski

"Polish Research Expedition to Spitsbergen, 1957-1958" - an exhibition in the Poznań Fotoplastykon
Centrum Informacji Kulturalnej (Cultural Information Centre), ul. F. Ratajczaka 44
3.02. - 2.05.2025; opening hours: Monday - Friday 10 am - 6 pm, Saturday 10 am - 5 pm, Sunday and holidays closed, last admission 1 hour before closing time
tickets: regular admission - 6 pln, reduced admission - 3 pln, family tickets - 12 pln, group tickets (groups of 10 or more) - 25 pln

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