A two-storey building with a tall garret presents a lavish historicising architecture. No major alterations have been made to the structure. The building is an important element in the spatial layout of Zielona Góra.

History

First mention concerning the plot at the Licealna Street where the school building functioned (currently a seat of the Rector’s Office of the University of Zielona Góra) dates back to 1618. It was an area serving as a garden belonging to the St Jadwiga parish. The plot can also be seen on a town plan from the 18th-century. Today’s Licealna Street was earlier known as Morwowa Street (German: Maulbeerstrasse). From 1749 onwards the law was applicable in Zielona Góra, pursuant to which undeveloped areas located within the boundaries of the city could have been transferred free of charge to a person declaring readiness to build a house, if a plot owner was unwilling or could not do it. The then mayor of Zielona Góra - Christoph Kaufmann - made use of this law, building a three-storey house on this plot. The construction of the first municipal lyceum for girls in Zielona Góra began in 1909. The former Kaufmann’s house was expanded to take account the needs of the school. The official opening took place on 1 October 1911. The building, preserved to our times, has a basement, four storeys and a striking octo-axial facade with a pseudo-avant-corps on the eastern side. The topmost, tallest storey is underlined by pilaster pairs. Teachers employed at school in Licealna Street had 16 classrooms, a library and biology, physics, chemistry and geography workshops at their disposal. In 1928 the second gym in the city, characterised by state-of-the-art solutions and located in a pseudo-avant-corps, was built. It also served as an assembly hall. The assembly hall, on a plan roughly resembling a square with a side length of approx. 17.4 m, was added to the western part of the complex. Thus, the corpus of the building was extended by three axes and a pseudo-avant-corps hosting the assembly hall. Herman Jäkel - a local businessman - undertook the expansion of the school and that undertaking was supervised by an architect from Berlin - Johanes Rosenthal. All works dealing with the addition were completed in August 1929. A bathroom with showers was arranged in the basement. Unfortunately, it has not survived to our times. In September 1946 a gymnasium and a lyceum were relocated to the building in Licealna Street from the Słowiański Square. Then, a primary school no. 9 was established in the building. Until 2004 the building hosted a post-secondary Staff Training School. Currently, the building belongs to the University of Zielona Góra and hosts the Rector’s Office.

Description

An eclectic building is located in the south-western part of the city centre. The building was constructed in the years 1909-1911 and was expanded in 1928. Its façade is facing north, towards the Licealna Street, whereas a south, rear façade is facing the Konstytucji 3 Maja Avenue. The building was erected on a rectangular floor plan, measuring 32.6 by 17.1 metres.

The structure is built of brick, plastered, has three storeys and a basement and was erected on an elongated rectangular floor plan. Its compact body is diversified with pseudo-avant-corpses located in the corners and an avant-corps on the south façade axis. It is covered with a tall hip roof and has a partially usable attic. Pseudo-avant-corpses in the corners are covered with separate gable half-hip roofs. The roof’s queen post truss is made of wood. Reinforced concrete floors are strengthened by crossbeams.

Facades were highlighted with a tall plinth - basement windows are located therein. Ground floor windows terminate in segmental arches and are framed with straight surrounds. The upper floors feature rectangular window openings. Horizontal partitions are highlighted by a straight strip of cornice between the second and third storey and a crowning cornice.

Currently, the building belongs to the University of Zielona Góra and hosts a Rector’s Office. Lectures and events sporadically take place in the building, but normally it 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

• Bielinis-Kopeć B., Zabytki Zielonej Góry, cz. 1, Zielona Góra 2003, s. 109-111.
• Biranowska-Kurtz A., Katalog zabudowy Zielonej Góry w obszarze objętym planem szczegółowym śródmieścia, Szczecin 1987, s. 262.
• Bujakiewicz Z., Krajobraz materialny i społeczny Zielonej Góry od końca XVIII do połowy XX wieku, Zielona Góra 2003, s. 202-203.
• Dudek M., Inwentaryzacja budowlana budynku przy ul. Licealnej 9, Zielona Góra 2004.
• Lintzel G., Z Grünberg do Zielonej Góry, [w:] „Pionierzy” 2002, nr 1.
• Schmidt H., Geschichte der Stadt Grünberg in Schlesien, Grünberg 1922, s. 1042.
• Stein E., Grünberg in Schlesien, [w:] Monographien deutcher Städte, Berlin 1928, s.136.