Zapomniana katastrofa kolejowa pod Kletnią. Rok 1847

On May 27, 1847, near the village of Kletnik, between Gorzkowice and Radomsko, one of the first, and perhaps the earliest, well-documented fatal passenger train disasters occurred in the partitioned Polish territories. The Warsaw-Vienna Railway train was traveling from Warsaw towards Częstochowa. The locomotive and tender remained on the track, but nine carriages plunged from a high causeway above the Widawka River valley. Six people died, and many were injured or bruised. The disaster was reported in the Warsaw, Kraków, and German-language press, including "Gazeta Codzienna," "Gazeta Krakowska," "Augsburger Tagblatt," and "Eisenbahn-Zeitung." Despite this, the event has almost disappeared from memory and is difficult to find in contemporary popular works. The film shows the modern disaster site, the former causeway/embankment, the bridge over the Widawka River, press reports from 1847, the commission's findings, and a clue from a railway story from 1853. This is a story about the beginnings of the railway, the price of modernity, and a tragedy worth remembering. Sources and materials used in the film Press from the era: – "Gazeta Codzienna," no. 165, Warsaw, June 24, 1847 – an account of the report of the commission investigating the Klatka disaster. Source: Polona / National Library. – "Gazeta Krakowska," no. 146, Kraków, July 1, 1847 – a reprint/press report about the Klatka disaster on the Warsaw-Vienna Railway. Source: Polona / National Library. – "Augsburger Tagblatt," June 10, 1847, p. 680—an early German-language account of the disaster near Klatka. Source: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek / Münchener DigitalisierungsZentrum. – "Eisenbahn-Zeitung," June 13, 1847—an account from the German-language railway press of the disaster near Klatka. 19th-century prints and studies: – Józef Rutkowski, "Life in the Railway and Various Wagon Tales with an Addition of a Description of Steam Trains," Warsaw, 1853. Source: Polona / National Library. Maps and Iconographic Materials: – "Plan of the Direction of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway," ca. 1848, co-authored by Seweryn Oleszczyński. Source: Polona / National Library, public domain. – Jerzy Egloff, "Postal and Industrial Map of the Kingdom of Poland", Warsaw, 1846. Source: Polona / National Library, public domain. – "Topographic Map of the Kingdom of Poland", later version with railway line. Source: Polona / National Library, public domain. – Wilhelm Kolberg, "Map of the Railways: Warsaw-Bench and Krakow...", Stuttgart, 1853. Source: Polona / National Library, public domain. – "Warsaw, Warsaw-Vienna Railway Station", photo by Maurycy Pusch, 1890–1899. Source: Polona / National Library, public domain. – "Częstochowa: Dr. Żel. W. Railway Station," postcard, 1918. Source: Polona / National Library, public domain. – "Noworadomsk — Railway Station," postcard, after 1906. Source: Polona / National Library, public domain. – "Greetings from Szczakowa: Railway Station, locomotive at the station in Szczakowa," postcard, 1909. Source: Polona / National Library, public domain. – "Lowitsch: Kriegsschauplatz 1914/1915: Bahnhof Nord," postcard/postcard, circa 1915–1920. Source: Polona / National Library, public domain. Contemporary materials: – Field shots of the Kletnia area, the bridge over the Widawka River, and the Gomunice–Dobryszyce section: own recordings. – Location/satellite shots: Google Earth, Kletnia area, access/date of recording: August 28, 2025. – Some reconstruction graphics and infographics were prepared as illustrative illustrations for the film. Music and audiovisual materials: www.epidemicsound.com www.envato.com #Kletni1847 #RailwayDisaster #RailwayHistory #WarsawViennaRailway #WarsawViennaRailway #PolishHistory #19thCentury #Radomsko #Gomunice #ForgottenHistory #Railway #HistoricalDocument