The building is located in dense development of the western frontage of Reja Street. A tenement house was erected in a style reminiscent of modernism and Art Nouveau and represents a significant element in the spatial layout of Zielona Góra.

History

The process of developing 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 tenement house is located evolved behind defensive walls quite late, only in the 17th century. Today’s Reja Street (Klietestrasse during German times) is marked as suitable for horse carriages and surrounded by pastures on the Büttner’s plan of 1864. This area was a wetland - a stream feeding the Złota Łącza river was running there. The feature was also located next to an old moat that surrounded the town in the Middle Ages. Parts of today’s Reja Street were developed as far as the gardens of houses located at Wandy, Jedności and Kasprowicza streets. The Reja Street was demarcated in 1901, whereas construction works and laying of the pavement were completed in 1904. The street was regulated and plots of land were demarcated for future development. The existing buildings were shaped mainly in the early 20th century. Affluent residents of the city owned the buildings. Newly established structures included mostly two or three-storey tenement houses built in a convention of Historicism, Art Nouveau and Modernism.

Incomplete archival records on the tenement house have been preserved. Owing to this we are now aware that the plot on Reja 5 street was bought by a master builder Carl Muhle in 1904. After the issuance of a building permit, the building began to be erected in 1905. Its ground floor was dedicated to a lithography workshop and upper storeys included flats. In January 1914 a construction design concerning the construction of a new structure (a printing plant hall) next to the existing lithography workshop was prepared. Documentation was prepared by Richard Kintzel. In 1914 Karl Raetsch became an owner of the entire tenement house and the lithography workshop. 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 tenement house and since that time it has been occupied for residential purposes. Unfortunately, documentation concerning the course of later construction and preservation works conducted in the building has not survived. No major alterations have been made to the structure. Currently, it hosts service and residential units. The structure is one of the most representative buildings in the city.

Description

The tenement house is located on Reja 5 street, in dense development of Zielona Góra centre, west of the old town’s marketplace. The Reja Street is an extension of Moniuszki Street towards the north, functions as a small section between Jedności Street and Bohaterów Westerplatte Street and is located in the strict monument preservation zone.

The building, with its facade facing the street, was erected on a small plot, on a floor plan resembling a rectangle. Its facilities include a small yard with a utility building. The feature is made of brick; walls were plastered on both sides. A three-storey building is topped with a mansard roof covered with roof tiles. The tenement house facade contains subtle architectural detail. On the first floor level, a bay window suspended on levers was placed centrally. An oval gable of the facade is crowned with a triangle with three rectangular window openings and an ellipsis decorated with garlands. The gable is covered with a gable roof. A basement extends under the whole building. Main entrance is located in the facade’s extreme axis. Facades are pierced with rectangular window openings without detail and surrounds. Original window and door woodwork has been preserved in the part of the building and the building’s body has survived in an original shape and without major transformations. The interior hosts an original wooden staircase with a balustrade and posts. The tenement house is a monument owned by the self-government and private entities. Due to the fact that it hosts service and residential units, 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, 08-07-2014 r.

Bibliography

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