Forester’s lodge, currently serving as a holiday home - Zabytek.pl
Address
Widzieńsko, 13
Location
woj. zachodniopomorskie, pow. goleniowski, gm. Stepnica - obszar wiejski
The building retains its original silhouette and façade design as well as the timber-framed wall structure, which has been preserved in its entirety. The forester’s lodge, along with the surrounding yard and utility buildings, forms a harmonious whole with the natural landscape of the Gowienica river meander.
History
The building, designed for the local forest administration, was erected in 1829; first written mentions of a forester’s lodge in Widzieńsko (Hohenbrück) date back to the year 1751. In the mid-19th century, the forested area under the control of the Widzieńsko forest administration had the total surface area of ca. 20.5 thousand morgen (a unit of measurement of land area used, among others, in Germany and Poland). Towards the end of the 19th century, the forest administration was moved to a new location, with the half-timbered building now serving residential purposes; in addition, a textile store is also known to have functioned here before World War II. After 1945, the building once again became the property of State Forest Administration; later on, it was taken over by the Wood Wool Manufacturing Plant. From 1972 onwards, the house has been private property; it was initially adapted to serve as an artists’ retreat and has later become a guest house known as “The Old Forester’s Lodge”. In the course of renovation works performed in the 1970s and the 1990s, some parts of its timber frame and infills have been replaced, as was its roof truss, roof cladding and window joinery.
Description
The forester’s lodge is located in the southern part of the village, on the western side of the road. The plot of land on which it stands is situated inside the Gowienica river meander, with the forester’s lodge positioned in its middle, its roof ridge facing the road (side-gabled layout). Despite the passage of time, the building retains its original architectural form and décor as well as certain features of workmanship which are clearly reminiscent of vernacular traditions in architecture. The house was built on a rectangular floor plan and measures 19.5 by 11.2 metres; it has two entrances in total, both positioned in its longer façades. It is a single-storey building with a basement and habitable attic, covered with a half-hip roof with a large wall dormer and small eyebrow dormers. The walls, positioned on a tall, stone wall base, feature a half-timbered structure with brick infills covered with plaster and painted white. The exposed timber frame consists of a regular arrangement of posts positioned on the sill plate, fastened with top plates and bound together with three layers of wooden beams. In addition, long, diagonal braces can be seen at the corners of the house. The basement walls are made of brick and stone. Vaulted ceilings of the barrel type are used throughout the basement level. The rest of the house features wooden beamed ceilings, covered with wooden boards and a layer of plaster. The roof is of the rafter-and-collar type, with queen posts on both sides, clad with beaver-tail roof tiles arranged in a “lace” pattern. The façades retain their original layout and décor, their aesthetic appeal stemming primarily from the presence of the timber frame and the contrasting white infills. The front façade follows an eight-axial layout with a four-axial wall dormer projecting from the roof above. The rear façade, on the other hand, follows a five-axial, regular layout, while the gable-end façades feature a single-axial and two-axial layout, depending on the individual storey. The interiors follow a two-bay layout with walk-through rooms and a hallway leading from one side of the house to the other, along the shorter axis thereof. The interiors are thoroughly modern in appearance, with parts of the timber-framed structure being left exposed to enhance their aesthetic appeal.
Private property. The building can be viewed from the outside, from the nearby road; entering the site itself is possible by prior telephone arrangement.
compiled by Waldemar Witek, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Szczecin, 25-02-2015.
Bibliography
- Bronish G, Ohle W., Kreis Kammin Land. Die Kunst- und Kulturdenkmäler der Provinz Pommern, Stettin 1939
Category: residential building
Architecture: nieznana
Building material:
wattle and daub
Protection: Register of monuments, Monuments records
Inspire id: PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_N_32_BK.108153, PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_E_32_BK.399478