History of the structure

The building was erected in the 1830s. It is not visible on the town plan of Opole from 1830 - the area on which it was built was at that time outside the city walls and was not developed. It is marked on the map of Opole from 1838. It was established as an inn serving mainly horse carriers of products from the Malapanew Steelworks in Ozimek to the reloading port on the Młynówka channel in Opole. The building was used as a restaurant until the early post-war years. In 1909, Mrs Selma Kehlers run a restaurant in the building called “Kaiserkrone”.

The building did not suffer during World War II. In 1945 it housed a restaurant with a dance hall “Gdynia”. In 1949, the building was the seat and club of the Polish-Soviet Friendship Society, and later the seat of the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association.

In the years 1956-1958 the building housed the seat of the Opole branch of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers. From 1958 it housed an art gallery and the premises of the then administration of the Office of Art Exhibitions in Opole. In 1992, the building was handed over to the District Office in Opole. In 1994, it was taken over by the Museum of Opole Silesia. On 20 January 2000, after several years of renovation, the Opole Silesia Museum Gallery was opened in its interiors, with a permanent exhibition of works by Jan Cybis (1897-1972), containing the largest collection of works by the outstanding Opole painter in Poland. The first floor is devoted to temporary exhibitions presenting painters of the Jan Cybis circle and winners of the Jan Cybis Award.

Description of the structure

The building is located at the intersection of Ozimska and Kołłątaja streets in the centre of Opole. The building is made of brick, plastered, detached, built on a rectangular floor plan, one-storey with a partly usable attic. It has a compact, symmetrical body. It is covered with a gable roof with a half-peak lower gable, in the slope of which there is an eyelid dormer on each side. The northern front elevation is six-axial. The axes are defined by the basement window openings and the windows above them, which replaced the original blind recesses. The first and sixth axes are characterized by rectangular frames reaching the ground level and enclosing window openings located inside. The lower part of the frame is additionally protruded in front of the pedestal’s face, where on the right side an old blind was preserved. The third, fourth, and fifth axes are similar to the second axis, and the sixth axis is similar to the first axis. The body of the building is surrounded by a crowning cornice, below which there is a cube frieze. The western side elevation consists of three asymmetrically located axes in the ground floor, marked by a door opening and windows on its sides. Above, the symmetrical four-axis part of the gable is articulated by rectangular window openings flanked by two small, horizontally arranged windows. The southern elevation is 6-axis, the fourth axis is marked by the main entrance to the gallery, preceded by a staircase with several steps. The eastern elevation is a mirror reflection of the western elevation, except that there is no door opening in the ground floor.

The building has no distinct style features. The historical furnishings of the former inn have not survived to the present day.

Visitor access: the building is accessible to visitors

Author: Joanna Banik, Katarzyna Latocha, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Opole, 16.07.2018

Bibliography

• Borkowski M., Opole przełomu wieków XIX/XX, Łódź 2015.
• Hamada A., Architektura Opola wpisana w dzieje miasta, Opole 2008.
• Studium historyczno-urbanistyczne miasta Opola, Katalog zabytków – Opole Wschód, PKZ Wrocław 1990 [in:] resources of the Voivodeship Heritage Protection Office in Opole.
• Karta ewidencyjna zabytków architektury i budownictwa: Zajazd, compiled by W. Żurakowski, 1993 [in:] resources of the Voivodeship Heritage Protection Office in Opole.