It stands in a densely built-up area. It has four storeys and a diversified architectural detail. It is eclectic in style. The presented feature 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 probably built in the late 19th century. The first recorded reference to it comes from 1890. It informs that the house belonged to Mrs Pietschman, and that it was renovated at that time by stonemason F. Bruks. Another reference dates to 1892. At that time, the then owner, tailor A. Kossman, applied to the construction police for renovation of the building. The reconstruction design was prepared by the said F. Bruks. From archival records we know that the tenement house was a two-storey building at that time, with a distinctive gable, and service premises on the ground floor. Only in 1895, it was extended upwards to the present height. 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. For a dozen years, the building was not used and remained in a bad technical condition. In the early 21st century, it went into private hands. Approx. in 2014, the interior was renovated and the external façade of the tenement house was refreshed. The building has been adapted for contemporary residential and service purposes. At present, it houses service and residential premises. The structure is one of the most representative buildings in the city.

Descritpion

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 building is located on a small plot of land and its front façade faces Pocztowy square. It was designed on an elongated rectangular floor plan. It is made of brick; its walls are plastered on both sides. The four-storey building is covered with a mono-pitched roof. The composition of its front façade is expressed in a three-axial rhythm. In the ground storey, there is a display window with the entrance to the service premises on one side. On the external (southern) axis, there is an entrance to the vestibule. The front façade features varied architectural detail. Its ground floor is separated with a profiled cornice. Individual storeys are pierced with rectangular window openings framed by profiled surrounds. Windows on the first and second floor are adorned with surrounds with side decorations and keystones with foliate decoration. They are topped with profiled pediments, with the middle one on the first floor resting on corbels and featuring a segmental arch in its top section, while on the second storey with a central motif of a triangular pediment. The façade is crowned with a profiled cornice on corbels. The body of the building has been preserved in its original state without major changes.

The tenement house is a monument owned privately. Due to the fact that it houses service premises and flats, the building is not widely available to the public.

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

Bibliography

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