The building is characterised by its original architectural form and half-timbered wall structure as well as the highly decorative façade design which features a profusion of lavish fretwork detailing.

History

The villa was erected at the turn of the 20th century, as evidenced both by its architecture and the distinctive features of workmanship and construction. There is no information about its architects or builders. The construction of the house remains linked to the growing popularity of the local holiday resort, established in the mid-19th century. The first person who has lived here was a professor from Berlin; his name remains unknown, however, and neither can we be certain whether he was also the owner of the house. Before World War 2, the property belonged to a man called Wentland. After 1945, the house remained occupied by the Russian army for a number of years. Later on, the house became private property. Today, it serves as a seasonal guest house known as “Villa Wisełka”.

Description

The house is located in the middle of the village, on the northern side of Nowowiejska street which also serves as the main road towards the town of Międzyzdroje. The house itself is a small, eclectic villa - a traditional timber-framed structure whose seaside resort town architecture was nevertheless alien to the region at the time of its construction. Designed on a rectangular floor plan 14.5 x 11.5 metres in size. the house features a central avant-corps projecting from its front façade, a porch adjoining its western gable-end wall as well as two annexes (staircase and verandah) projecting from its back wall. The building consists of a number of distinct sections - annexes and oriels - clustered around the main body of the house. It is a single-storey structure with a basement and habitable attic with knee wall, covered with gable and mono-pitched roofs. The peripheral walls are half-timbered, with brick infills concealed beneath painted weatherboard cladding; the entire structure rests upon tall, brick foundations. Only the ground floor section of the front avant-corps features painted, plastered brick walls. Inside, the building features ceramic brick infill ceilings above the basement level and wooden ceilings on all other levels; the ceiling beams are concealed beneath wooden boards, with the exception of the attic, where exposed beams are used instead. The roof truss consists of rafters and purlins, supported by queen posts. The roofs are clad with torch-on roofing felt. The wooden window joinery is a mix of period and modern items, with most windows featuring a cruciform arrangement of mullions and transoms; the windows in the wall facing the yard are flanked with period window shutters. The façades feature the original layout and décor, their proportions and colour scheme conveying a sense of harmony. The front façade follows a four-axial, symmetrical layout with a two-axial avant-corps flanked by stylised pilasters on the ground floor level and supporting a slightly overhanging, three-axial first-floor section above. The gable-end façades follow a single-axial layout and are designed in an asymmetrical manner; a three-axial porch projects from the western façade, surmounted by a large oriel on the first-floor level, likewise following a three-axial layout. The six-axial rear façade likewise follows an asymmetrical layout, its detailing visibly simplified compared to the front façade. All façades feature lavish fretwork detailing in the form of window surrounds and headers, cornices and friezes running between the storeys as well as profiled rafter tails, ceiling beam ends and braces; the entire house is painted in shades of brown and tan. The interior maintains its original, two-and-a-half-bay layout with a hallway leading alongside the longer axis of the house; the grand, representational rooms are all arranged in the front suite. Notable period features include partially preserved stucco ceiling roses as well as panelled double doors in an enfilade layout.

Private property. The structure can be viewed from the outside, from the nearby road.

compiled by Waldemar Witek, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Szczecin, 24-07-2015.

Bibliography

• Arlet J., Drewniane budownictwo szkieletowe na Pomorzu Zachodnim, Szczecin 2004.