St. Florian's Day in KGHM
The main celebrations on the occasion of St. Florian's Day will be held on April 28, and this year the Legnica Copper Smelter is the host. Traditionally, in the morning the mining orchestra will greet the Management, and the ceremony of awarding state decorations and jubilee distinctions will take place on 2.00 p.m. On this day, the evening belongs to the beer hall and the ladies' night. 15 persons will be awarded state decorations (13 Gold and 2 Silver Medals for Long Service), 6 will receive badges of honour "For contribution to Energetyka", and 24 persons will receive badges of honour "Accomplished for KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.". In addition, 30 jubilarians will receive congratulation letters and statuettes of St. Florian. The next day, on 29.04, the "Philharmonics of Wit" will take place on the Legnica town square at 7 p.m. – a musical and cabaret spectacle led by famous pianist and satirist Waldemar Malicki and an orchestra directed by Bernard Chmielarz. Accompanied by musical jokes and satirical comments, it will provide unforgettable fun and entertainment at the highest level.
The holy mass for steelworkers and their families will be held on Sunday, April 30, in the Legnica Cathedral at 10 a.m., to which we invite all residents, not only of Legnica, but also surrounding towns.
Informal meetings, beer halls, ladies' nights and meetings with retired employees will take place at the beginning of May. On the occasion of St. Florian's Day there will also be Bridge Tournaments, Festivals, Fishing Competitions, and Steelworkers' Rally in the Kaczawskie Mountains. Steelworkers will also compete in cross-departmental competitions in table tennis and bowling. In turn, Open Days of the Legnica Copper Smelters will take place on May 20.
This year's St. Florian's Day is celebrated under favourable circumstances. Launching the Flash Furnace in Głogów I Copper Smelter almost completes the multiannual Pyrometallurgy Modernisation Programme. Implementing this investment allowed to make the Głogów Copper Smelter's structure functionally integrated, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly, while new technology ensures the current nominal processing capacity of own and imported concentrates in the perspective of functioning on the copper producers' market for at least the next several decades. In turn, the Legnica Smelter is preparing for a large investment, which is the Rotary-Casting-Refining furnace. By investing in new technology in the electrorefining section, the smelter will shape a new direction for developing electrorefining processes in Polska Miedź. This investment will secure the future of the Legnica Copper Smelter.
Saint Florian, a young soldier of the Roman army, has not renounced his faith – for which he was sentenced to death by drowning in the river Enns. This happened on May 4, 304. A Benedictine monastery and church was built over his grave. Today, St. Florian is the patron of Upper Austria and the town of Linz, where the steel industry is strongly developed. The relics of the martyr arrived in Poland thanks to king Casimir II the Just. St. Florian's Church in Cracow's Kleparz neighbourhood was built in his honour. Today the relics are resting on Wawel, and recently also in Kolbuszowa. St. Florian's symbols include, among others: a millstone, chain mail, cross, and a burning house.