It is a corner building located in a densely built-up area. It has two storeys and a loft, and features a diversified architectural detail. It was built in an eclectic style. The presented building is an important element in the spatial layout of Zielona Góra.

History

The process of development of individual zones and streets of the suburbs of Zielona Góra began as early as in the 14th century. The growing town needed land for residential, commercial, and craft development. The area where the said building is located evolved outside the defensive walls already in the 14th century. The quarter quickly developed as suburbs in the south-eastern part of the town chartered in the mid-13th century. The area was earmarked for a market place which was called Pottery Market due to products sold on it. It was delineated near a sheepskin route. Around the square, which was called later Post Square (Plac Pocztowy), plots for future buildings were demarcated. The growing suburbs needed good connection with the old market remaining within the city walls. For that reasons, in 1487, a city gate was built in the defensive walls and called New Gate (Nowa Brama). Currently, the remnant of the gate is formed by a tower called Hunger Tower (Wieża Głodowa), standing on Masarska Street. The buildings on Pocztowy Square were all the time related to trade and craftsmanship. Merchants, craftsmen, or winemakers had their houses there. The oldest two hotels: “Pod Czarnym Orłem” and “Pod Trzema Wzgórzami” were located there. All the buildings were shaped mainly in the second half of the 19th century and in early 20th century. The surviving buildings are mainly three- or four-storey tenement houses erected in the style of late Classicism, Historicism, and Art Nouveau.

Incomplete archival records on the tenement house described here have been preserved. Neither do we know the exact date of the building construction, nor the name of the designer or contractor. The tenement house was built probably at the turn of the 18th and the 19th century. The first mention about the building comes from 1859. At that time, its the then owner, merchant C. Fensky applied to the construction police for renovation of the building. From this documentation we know that the outline of the structure corresponded to the present one. The building was erected on a quadrilateral floor plan with a chamfered corner in the south-western part. In 1867, it was owned by a ropemaker named Grunwald. In 1877, the building was property of merchant K. Peükar. The latter ordered renovation of the ground floor, as a result of which the entrance was placed in the corner of the building, and the extreme window of the southern façade was transformed into a display window. The renovation design was put into practice by master mason Carl Lorenz. The next construction works were carried out in 1888 according to a design by master mason Kiszler. At that time, a new staircase in the back suite of rooms was built, and the former was liquidated; the façade was renovated and painted, and its décor was changed. In 1907, the façade was painted light grey, and in 1912, renovation of walls was commenced. In 1927, the walls were covered with new plasterwork. In 1938, one of the windows was transformed into a store display window. Hostilities of the Second World War did not lead to major damage to the building. After the war, the local government took over ownership of the building and since that time it has been used for residential purposes. No major alterations have been made to the structure. In early 21st century, the building went into private hands. In the years 2004-2005, the interior was renovated and the external façade of the tenement house was refreshed. The building has been adapted for contemporary gastronomic and office purposes. At present, it houses service and office premises. The structure is one of the most representative buildings in the city.

Description

It is located at Pocztowy Square within a densely built-up area. It is situated in the centre of Zielona Góra, south-east of the old town’s marketplace. Pocztowy Square is the quarter from which M. Kopernika and Drzewna Streets run towards east, W. Sikorskiego and A. Grottgera Streets run towards south, and Pod Filarami Street runs towards north. Plac Pocztowy is a part of the strict monument protection zone.

The corner building is situated on a small plot and its front façade faces both frontages of Drzewna Street and Pocztowy Square. It was built on a quadrilateral floor plan with a chamfered corner. The feature is made of brick (in the basement sections also of stone); its walls are plastered on both sides. The building has basements beneath the majority of its area. It has two storeys and a loft, and is covered by a multi-pitched roof clad in ceramic roof tiles. In the surface of the roof, there are numerous small windows allowing more light to the loft. The composition of the building’s front façade is comprised of a regularly arranged window and door openings, with a small disturbance of this arrangement near the south-western corner of the building. The front façade features varied architectural detail. Individual storeys are pierced with rectangular window openings framed in profiled surrounds. On the first floor, windows are enlivened with decorative panels. The ground floor is adorned with rustication and separated from the upper storeys with a profiled cornice with a decorative motif of rhombic frieze. The original door woodwork renovated during refreshing works has survived in the building. The body of the building has been preserved in its original state without major changes.

The tenement house is a monument owned privately. It houses service and office premises and is generally available.

compiled by Krzysztof Słowiński, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Zielona Góra, 08-07-2015.

Bibliography

• Studia na początkami i rozplanowaniem miast nad środkową Odrą i dolną Wartą, pod red. Zdzisława Kaczmarczyka i Andrzeja Wędzkiego, Zielona Góra 1970;
• Stanisław Kowalski, Miasta Środkowego Nadodrza, Zbigniew Bujakiewicz, Krajobraz materialny i społeczny Zielonej Góry od końca XVIII do połowy XX wieku, Zielona Góra 2003;
• Zielona Góra, Przeszłość i teraźniejszość, pod red. M Szczanieckiego, Poznań 1962;
• Zabytki Zielonej Góry, pod red. B. Bielinis-Kopeć, Zielona Góra 2007;
• W. Janowska, Zielona Góra. Wytyczne konserwatorskie do miejscowych planów zagospodarowania przestrzennego, Zielona Góra 2004;
• Mirosław Kuleba, Topografia winiarska Zielonej, Zielona Góra 2010;
• Historia Zielonej Góry. Dzieje miasta do końca XVIII wieku, tom I, pod red. Wojciecha Strzyżewskiego, Zielona Góra 2011