Trams in Legnica

[1] Due to its medieval location, Legnica has functioned within the boundary of the city walls, the demolition of which was initiated in 1760 and ended with an intensive action of demolishing after 1860.

[2][3] The effects of the Industrial Revolution: the Berlin-Wrocław Railroad and the creation of the factory district resulted in an influx of workers into the city, which had about 7,000 inhabitants in the early 19th century[4].

After 1860, companies erected quarters of four-story tenement houses for workers around the Old Town (Kartuzy district, outskirts of Tarninowo), which increased the area of the city and enabled the influx of people, and in consequence, triggered the need to organize public transportation.

[1] The construction of streetcar lines and equipping the city with electricity was part of the policy of the long-time mayor Ottomar Oertel, who focused on the development of the municipal infrastructure in his early years.

[1] The management of the streetcar company applied for permission to reduce the frequency of trams and change the circular line into a straight one, moving the tracks to Skarbowa (Klosterstr.)

[1] The technical condition of Legnica's tram infrastructure and rolling stock in the 1930s was insufficient and required high financial resources to maintain its functionality.

[1] The bus line was extended in 1939, and at the turn of 1939 and 1940, due to the war (shortage of liquid fuels), it was temporarily suspended and then re-opened on a shorter route.

[5] From then on there were three sequentially numbered lines: During World War II, the copper contact wire was replaced with steel (non-ferrous metals were confiscated for military purposes).

[1] At the beginning of 1945, in the face of the progress of the Lower Silesia operation of the Soviet Army and the approaching front, Legnica was being prepared for defense, and the public transport was immobilized.

Immediately after World War II, the town was incorporated into Poland as part of the so-called Regained Territories under the international provisions of the Yalta Conference.

[1] A group of 27 people, thirteen pioneers and fourteen Germans, divided into three brigades (for the depot, track and power supply), immediately began work on rebuilding the streetcar company in the second half of May 1945.

[1] From July 15 to October 1945, the part of Legnica on the left bank of the Kaczawa River, including the old town and Tarninów, was closed by the Soviet army to the Polish population.

[5][9][8] Traffic was resumed with 4 renovated motor vehicles on three lines, which were shortened due to the devastation and incompleteness of the catenary network: In the years 1946–1950, with the acquisition of materials, the pre-war length of routes and the number of rolling stock was restored.

[8] By the decision of the government of the People's Republic of Poland made in 1951, as part of a six-year plan, copper industry plants were located in Legnica.

[1] In 1951, for the first time since the launch of the network, a brand new streetcar, Konstal 2N, was delivered to Legnica (by decision of the Ministry of Municipal Economy, it was moved to Łódź a year later).

[1] The tracks were extremely worn out, frequent breakdowns consisting of axle fractures on bumps occurred repeatedly, followed by problems with voltage drop on the line to the steelworks after the introduction of heavier N-type vehicles.

[1] Builty forty years earlier, functioning in different realities, single-track routes with loops did not guarantee adequate capacity, that would allow streetcars to run at a frequency providing efficient transport.

[1] Until 1963, Legnica did not comply with the law on the right-hand traffic, which required to block the door on the left-hand side in the direction of driving, despite regulatory attempts made in 1959.

[1] Due to the demolition of the destroyed Old Town in Legnica, the tramway service between the railroad station and Chojnowska Street was abandoned, and a bus line from Kartuzy was diverted there.

[1] After World War II, in the United States and in Europe, tramway networks were massively liquidated due to the improved availability of road transport (including trolleybuses and buses).

[6] In the course of internal discussions on the comprehensive reconstruction of Lower Silesian cities, the provincial authorities in Wrocław decided to replace the inefficient narrow gauge streetcars in Legnica with more expensive but more efficient bus transport.

During the session of 4 August 1966 Presidium of the City National Council decided to replace the streetcar line to Przybkow by buses, which happened after the delivery of vehicles on 6 April 1967.

Streetcars on the last functioning line, connecting the railroad station in Legnica and the village Piekary Wielkie, were replaced by new buses as of 1 July 1968.

The old depot was renovated while it was still in operation in 1966–1967, changing the appearance of the building significantly (rough façade, bigger metal gates), and returned to the disposal of the city authorities after the last streetcars were removed in September 1968.