The house, constructed using the traditional timber framing technique and subsequently restored in a manner which ensured its preservation, retains its original architectural form as well as parts of the period door and window joinery exhibiting an outstanding artistic value.

History

The house is believed to have been constructed at the end of the 18th century or in the early 19th century, on a medieval plot of land which remained in the hands of the Dittman family from 1676 onwards. The building was modified on several occasions, as evidenced both by certain peculiar features of its construction as well as by individual surviving fixtures and fittings, such as the stairs with the inscribed date “1842”. In 1910, the building was damaged by fire, with parts of the attic and the gable-end wall being lost to the blaze. In 1914, the reconstruction of the house was complete, the works being handled by Herman Assam. After 1945, the building was taken over by the State Treasury and used for residential and tourist purposes (providing accommodation for children who came here for summer camps). From 1982 onwards, the house has been in private hands; it underwent a comprehensive restoration in the 1990s and currently serves as a residential building.

Description

The house is located in the middle of the old town, forming part of the market square frontage located south of the town hall. A brick tenement house (no. 2) adjoins the western wall of the house. The building retains its original façade décor, its defining architectural features likewise surviving intact. The aesthetic appeal of the building stems from the decorative arrangement of the posts and beams forming its structural timber framing. The house was erected on a roughly trapezium-shaped floor plan, its dimensions being 12.5 x 11.4 x 13.5 metres. The front façade of the house faces north; the house features three entrances in total, two in the northern façade and one in the rear façade. The building is compact in shape, its cuboid body covered with a gable roof with a jerkin head on its eastern side. The peripheral walls feature a timber-framed structure with brick infills. The timber frame has been restored using both salvaged period timbers and new posts and beams, the latter being prepared using traditional carpentry techniques and reflecting the dimensions of the replaced originals. The spaces between the posts and beams are plastered and whitewashed, while the timber frame itself is painted black. The eastern gable wall is positioned on a tall brick wall base (a subsequent addition), while the original timber-framed wall structure of the ground-floor section of the rear façade has been replaced by a brick wall. The original timber-framed structure of the inner walls has also been partially preserved. The house features wooden ceilings, some of which feature exposed wooden beams. The roof truss has been replaced during the 1910s and features a rafter and collar structure supported by queen posts. The roof is covered with S-shaped roof tiles. The façades retain their original layout and regular axial partitions, accentuated by the decorative arrangement of the wooden posts and beams, their black-painted surface forming a stark contrast with the white, plastered infills. The front façade follows a four-axial layout on the ground floor level and a six-axial layout on the first floor level. The size of individual doors and windows varies, with the surviving wooden door and window joinery enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the building due to its decorative nature. The individual storeys of the rear façade follow a five- and seven-axial layout respectively. The rear façade no longer possesses any features indicative of any particular architectural style. The interior follows a two-bay, asymmetrical layout, with a vestibule positioned on the shorter axis of the house running across the entire width of the building. Originally, the front section of the house was used as a store, the notable remnants of which including the front door and shop window, both of them exhibiting distinctive, architectural forms and lavish woodcarved decorations.

Private property. The building can be viewed from the outside.

compiled by Waldemar Witek, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Szczecin, 19-01-2015.

Bibliography

• Witek M., Zabudowa wiejska i małomiasteczkowa na terenie polskiej części Puszczy Wkrzańskiej. [in:] IV Polsko-Niemiecka Konferencja Architektura Ryglowa - wspólne dziedzictwo, M. Opęchowski (ed.), Szczecin 2003, pp. 295-306.