History

The main building of the Lubusz Museum, located at 35 Warszawska Street, is a villa coming from the years 1903-1904. It was built for cable factory owner Gustav Adolf Schroeder. The villa along with an outbuilding was designed in 1902 by architectural studio Reimarks & Hetzel from Charlottenburg. After World War II, the building was earmarked for museum purposes. Apart from the seat of the museum’s management, the exhibition part was also arranged inside. Permanent exhibitions include, among other things, collections of Polish and foreign paintings, European sculpture, originating mainly from the 19th- and 20-th century, as well as utility and decorative Art Nouveau objects.

Description

The seat of the museum is located in an eclectic villa, mostly neo-Baroque in style, built on a polygonal floor plan. It is a two-storey structure with basements underneath and a loft, covered with a mansard roof with dormers in the roof planes. An element of variation of the front façade is constituted by an avant-corps with balcony, and the south-western corner of the villa is enlivened by a hexagonal tower topped with a bulbous tented roof. On the northern side of the villa, there is a loggia with a terrace above. At present, the terrace is glazed and covered with a roof. On the eastern side, there is a terrace with a balustrade decorated with a frieze with foliate and zoomorphic motifs. The façades of the villa are adorned with sandstone cornices and lesenes, as well as window casings. In the western side, there is main entrance with surrounds in the form of a decorative portal topped with a triangular pediment. Inside the villa, in the two-storey main hall, original elements of its décor have survived: oakwood wood panelling, spectacular staircase, coffer ceiling, and marble fireplace with a mirror in a stylish oakwood frame. In the rooms, arranged around the hall in an enfilade, the permanent expositions of the museum are set. On the western side of the complex, there is a two-wing, single-storey outbuilding with a small yard. The villa is covered by mansard roofs.

The villa is surrounded by a dendrological garden with an area of 3.32 ha, where approx. 150 species of trees and shrubs grow: e.g. oaks, yew trees, maples, London planetrees, limes, elms, and magnolias. One can find here also specimens of white fir, Korean fir, Chinese willow, Kerria japonica, Oregon grape, European bladdernut, and Catawba rhododendron. In the garden, there is a reconstructed stone megalithic tomb of the Globular Amphora culture, originating from before approx. 4100 years.

The building is accessible all year round in the opening hours of the museum.

compiled by Krzysztof Garbacz, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Zielona Góra, 3-10-2014.

Bibliography

• Garbacz K., Przewodnik po zabytkach województwa lubuskiego, t. 3: Powiaty: gorzowski - słubicki - sulęciński - międzyrzecki - strzelecko-drezdenecki, Zielona Góra 2013, s. 32-34, fot. 7-8.
• Skaziński B. (B.S.), Gorzów Wlkp., [w:] Zabytki północnej części województwa lubuskiego (red. J. Lewczuk, B. Skaziński), Gorzów Wlkp.-Zielona Góra 2004, s. 25.
• Strona internetowa Muzeum Lubuskiego (dostęp 3.10.2014 r.): http://www.muzeumlubuskie.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=18&Itemid=69.