The Parish Church of St Nicolaus at Byczyna in Silesia (German Pitschen) presents a most interesting, yet till now unknown example of a hall church from around 1300. It proves that the Silesian founders, as well as builders themselves, sought at the end of the 13th century for an suitable, attractive form of a representative town church. All up-to-date researchers treated the Byczyna church as an integral structure dating back to the end of the 14th century. It is most surprising, as it is more than evi- dent that we deal here with a much older building, which was only much rebuilt to the present shape at the end of the 14 th century. With no doubt, the church in question forms one of the most interesting architectural creations of around 1300 in Silesia. Its builder proved their knowledge of many important buildings in Austria and Moravia, especially of the Cathedral al Olomouc/Olmütz, which was near completion at that time. The short hall nave of the Byczyna church counts to the main trend of the parish churches in Silesia from the 2nd half of the 13th century. In turn, the single west tower was erected prob- ably according to the wish of its alleged founder, Henry the Third, duke of Głogów/Glogau. It reminded of the west tower of the Collegiate Church at Głogów, while the unique mason decoration in the Byczyna choir, which encompassed sculpted baldachins and vaulting shafts, was an allusion to the chancel of the aforementioned church at Głogów. The size and opulent articulation of the eastern part of the analysed building stressed the function of the church as a seat of an archpriest. Unfortu- nately the Byczyna choir, which was a unique structure in the Silesian architecture of around 1300, was later strongly rebuilt and lost its previous shape.

Kościół parafialny w Brochowie koło Sochaczewa, wzniesiony w latach 1551–1561 z inicjatywy wojskiego warszawskiego Jana Brochowskiego, jest jednym z najbardziej znanych dzieł włoskiego muratora Jana Baptysty Wenecjanina. W niniejszym artykule jego architektura poddana jest jednak an alizie nie stylowej, lecz ikonograficznej. Brochowska budowla odznacza się niezwykłym kształtem, zaskakującym jak na warunki wiejskiego kościoła parafialnego – jest to trójnawowa inkastelizowana bazylika, z dwiema okrągłymi wieżami w fasadzie zachodniej i trzecią wieżą nad apsydą prezbiterium, która mieści obszerną emporę, otwierającą się do wnętrza świątyni. Wyjaśnienie tak złożonego programu przestrzennego, kojarzącego się przy tym z architekturą militaris, jest możliwe, gdy weźmiemy pod uwagę osobę fundatora, którego funkcją, jako wojskiego warszawskiego, było zapewnianie bezpieczeństwa i spokoju podległemu obszarowi. Wyjątkowy motyw wieży wschodniej mieszczącej emporę komunikującą się z wnętrzem prezbiterium za pomocą wielkiej arkady można z kolei uznać za cytat z gotyckiej katedry poznańskiej, gdzie taka wieża przy chórze powstała na początku XV w. Sięgnięcie po rozwiązanie kojarzące się z kształtem wielkopolskiego tumu jest zrozumiałe wobec przynależności parafii w Brochowie wraz z całym archidiakonatem warszawsko-czerskim do diecezji poznańskiej. Przedstawiona w niniejszym artykule analiza podnosi rangę brochowskiego kościoła jako jednej z najciekawszych kreacji architektury sakralnej w Polsce około połowy XVI w.

The effective diffusivity of water in brown coal of Bełchatów mine was experimentally determined. The experiments were performed in superheated steam at 200°C and atmospheric pressure using slightly compressed pellets of cylindrical shape. The drying and temperature curves of the sample were used to identify diffusivity. An inverse problem was formulated and solved by the finite element method for 3D axially symmetric cylindrical geometry of the sample. A satisfactory fit of the simulated curves to experimental results was obtained. The obtained dependence of effective diffusivity on moisture content and temperature may be used in designing lignite dryers.

As of the spring of 2017, the HAŁDY Database is available on the Polish Geological Institute – NRI website. The geodatabase contains information and data on waste mineral raw materials collected on old heaps, industrial waste stock-piles and in post-mining settlers, from the Polish part of the Sudety Mountains. The article presents the types of data and information contained in the geodatabase and the methodology for their collection. As a result of four-year research works, field reconnaissance, archives and geological basic research, 445 objects of former mining and mineral processing were inventoried. There are 403 mine heaps, 16 industrial settlers, 23 stock-piles and 3 external dumps. These are mainly objects after coal mining and metal ores, including post-uranium. The greatest opportunities for the economic use of waste are associated with coal sludge accumulated in settlers of the liquidated Lower Silesian Coal Basin. The material from stone heaps after polymetallic, iron and fluorite ore mining is also easy to use. The issue of the economic use of post-flotation copper ore waste or the recovery of metals (including gold) from dumps of arsenic mining remains open. The limitation here is the efficiency of metal recovery technologies and environmental restrictions. Some of the objects are located in protected areas, which excludes the possibility of waste management. Some stock-piles and heaps should be carefully reclaimed and covered by environmental monitoring, due to their harmful impact on environmental components.