History

The forge was erected in 1781, which is evidenced by the construction date placed on the lintel. It then belonged to the estate owner von Lueders, since 1792 it was the property of the von Tresckow family. In the period of land separation the forge became a part of a rural commune - Schleusener was its first owner, then the Helterhoff family. From ca.  1920 the forge was owned Georg Helterhoff and it was a typical locksmith-blacksmith workshop. After 1945 the structure was taken over by Dębno commune.

Originally the building was erected as a post-and-beam structure, then it was partly reconstructed. In 1955 a complete renovation was performed, among other things, a pseudo-post-and-beam structure of the  back wall was introduced, the hearth and stack were removed. In subsequent years the forge was not used, it was demolished in 2009 as a  result of a construction disaster. It was restored in 2010 and was granted an award in the “Zabytek Zadbany“ [Well-preserved Historical Monument] contest in 2014.

Description

A free-standing building, placed in the centre of the village, on a  village square, next to the intersection of the roads, in the  neighbourhood of the farm no. 21.

A small forge, with one room, on a ground floor, with gabled arcade, covered with a gable roof. Walls are of post-and-beam structure (clay filling), northern wall made of field stone.

Originally all of the forgee walls were performed as a post-and-beam structure, with clay (wattle-and-daub) filling of the quarters, the  gables are concealed by wooden boards. The structure of the top arcade was supported by five pillars, fastened from the top with a cap beam. Structural elements, especially pillars, were characterised by large cross-sections (22 x 28-32 cm), all of the carpentry joints were studded. The interior of the forge was covered by a beam-clay ceiling with wooden boards laid on the beams. The flooring was made of cobblestones. In the centre of the forge there was a hammer block, by the northern wall the hearth with eaves and blacksmith equipment were placed. The only entrance was located in the arcaded wall, the interior was illuminated by small windows.

During the renovations the northern and eastern walls were reconstructed with stone and ceramic brick, and in the eastern one the fragment of half-timbered imitation was introduced, the equipment and stack were removed, roof truss and post-and-beam structure of the southern wall were replaced.

As a result of reconstruction and restoration in 2010 the condition as before the construction disaster was restored, with maintaining all the  elements of the historical structure and fittings. The building was demolished entirely (except the fragment of the stone and brick wall) and reconstructed anew, following the traditional technology. The  structure preserved its original architectural form, gable roof with roof tiles, post-and-beam structure of two walls (with exposed framework and plastered fields between the rafters), secondary build-ups in remaining walls and original structure of the pillar arcade with inscription beam over the door.

Limited access to the historic building. The interior may be accessed upon the consent of the head of the village (sołtys; neighbouring farm no. 21).

Waldemar Witek, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Szczecin, 01.07.2014

Bibliography

• Katalog budownictwa ludowego – gm. Dębno, Szczecin 1977, Archive of the Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Szczecin.
• Riegel B., Die Schmiede in Dölzig, Die Wassermühle in Dölzig, „Heimat-kalender des Kreises Soldin” 1928, pp. 101–102.