Worth knowing

It is worth knowing that:

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  • in Duszniki, paper making began before 1562,
  • today the paper mill in Duszniki is one of the most valuable monuments in the world, and in 2011 it was granted the status of a Historical Monument,
  • efforts are currently underway to enter the mill on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List (from October 2019 the mill is on the UNESCO Tentative List),
  • the first Polish paper mill was built in 1491 in Prądnik Czerwony (today a district of Kraków),
  • in 1798 Frenchman Louis Nicolas Robert invented the paper machine; the popularization of machine production led to the replacement of mills with paper plants (only 30 paper mills have survived to this day in Europe),
  • about 413 million tons of paper are produced annually in the world, of which 4.8 million tons in Poland (our country’s share in global production reaches 1.2%),
  • as much as 2.9 million tons (approx. 60%) of the paper produced in Poland is used for packaging, almost 0.7 million tons (approx. 15%) for hygienic and sanitary purposes, writing and printing papers are produced in the amount of 0.8 million tons (approx. 17%),
  • an average inhabitant of the world uses approx. 54 kg of paper per year, and an inhabitant of Poland approx. 140 kg,

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  • paper began to be made in China around 105 A.D., and Caj Luna is considered to be the inventor of paper,
  • the first sheets of paper in human history were made of mulberry fibres, rags, old fishing nets and ropes,
  • until the 19th century, the basic paper material in European paper mills were fibres obtained from rags,
  • wood was first used to make paper in 1844,
  • now the paper industry uses more and more waste paper, mainly for the production of wrapping and newspaper paper,
  • in Europe, the first paper mills in southern Italy and Spain were established by Arabs in the 10th-11th centuries,
  • in the 13th century a water wheel was used to drive paper machines; since then paper production plants were called paper mills,
  • several thousand paper mills were built in Europe in five centuries.