Aspekty konserwatorskie rekonstrukcji domu "Gazety Olsztyńskiej" w Olsztynie

• Authors: Wańkowska-Sobiesiak Joanna

Title variants

EN

THE CONSERVATION ASPECTS OF THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE „GAZETA OLSZTYŃSKA" PUBLISHING HOUSE IN OLSZTYN

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

The building which housed the pre-war „Gazeta Olsztyńska" is situated in the General K. Świerczewski Square, i. e. the north-west corner of the Old Town in Olsztyn, and was completely reconstructed in the years 1981-1991. Up to 1945 this area was built up and included the Fish Market. The edifice which subsequently included the „Gazeta Olsztyńska" offices was erected at the end of the nineteenth century. Single-storey, unplastered and decorated with cornices, it was covered with a high two-tiered roof. From 1920 the building belonged to the Union of Poles in Eastern Prussia, and was the headquarters of the editorial board of the „Gazeta". It is mentioned in address books from 1926 do 1937 as being located on 2 Młyńska Street. The premises in the square and the edifice in question survived the war. On 22 January 1945 Olsztyn was liberated by the Red Army which already in February set fire to the town. More than a third of all the buildings which managed to remain intact were devastated. In the 1949-1959 period the Old Town was reconstructed but actually the work was conducted up to 1969. The large General K. Świerczewski Square was established in 1949 and became the favourite place where the local residents met and spent their leisure time. Already in January of that year as a result of a statement made by the Voivodship Conservator of Monuments, the Ministry of Culture and Science declared that the square had been created with the official permission of the authorities. Once again, during the construction of the square, the Voivodship Conservator of Monuments protested, demanding that the town walls on 7 and 8 Podwale Street be exposed. The square was completed in the 1960s, extending beyond the line of the former buildings. In 1978 work began on a project for the restoration of the Old Town and in 1988, upon the initiative of PRON, there arose the idea of reconstructing the offices of the „Gazeta Olsztyńska" as a symbol of the struggle for Polishness in that part of the country. In accordance with a statement of the Voivodship Conservator of Monuments, the building was to initiate a reconstruction of all the premises formerly standing in the square. During a meeting attended by the Voivodship Conservator of Monuments, the municipal authorities, representatives of the newspaper, the Museum of Varmia and Mazuria and PROM, as the author of the historical documentation I presented in the name of the State Enterprises - Workshops for the Conservation of Monuments the historical aspect of the reconstruction indicating the correctness (within the context of the adopted conservation doctrines) of placing in the square a commemmorative monument e. g. an obelisk: the additional argument was the small artistic and architectonic value of the former offices of the „Gazeta". The decision concerning the reconstruction, however, had been already made. In May 1988 the square was invaded by bulldozers which destroyed the entire structure of the old foundations and cellars. This first stage of work was commissioned by the Town Office and carried out by the Voivodship Office of Investments in Olsztyn in accordance with a project prepared by the State Enterprises-Workshops for the Conservation of Monuments, which also undertook the realization of the further stages of the reconstruction and conducted archeological supervision. The building was ultimately situated in a place other than the original one, making it difficult to recreate the Fish Market. In wonder whether the expression „reconstruction" is adequate in this instance? Perhaps one should say that we are dealing with a copy or even a model, on a 1:1 scale. Thanks to the reconstruction the Old Town received a collector and was attached to the water mains situated outside its boundaries. The digs underneath the walls were executed along the line of the former defensive town walls and in several places disturbed the course of the foundations, extant under the surface of the soil. With all certainty, we have received a symbol of Polishness, greatly important for the history of Varmia and Mazuria, which for almost 180 years (in the case of Varmia) constituted part of Eastern Prussia. The building, however, was not the only seat of the Polish newspaper which could have been commemmorated in a different manner, and certainly by applying methods more concurrent with the principles of conservation.

Keywords

PL

konserwacja; rekonstrukcja; Gazeta Olsztyńska; zabudowa Olsztyna; Stare Miasto w Olsztynie; rewaloryzacja; zagospodarowanie przestrzenne

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 1992
• Issue: 1-2
• Pages: 71-78

Dates

published

1992

Contributors

author

Wańkowska-Sobiesiak Joanna

References

• J. St r umi ńs k i , Układ przestrzenny średniowiecznego miasta Olsztyna. „Rocznik Olsztyński" 1977, s. 220 i nast.
• H. Domańs k a , Stare Miasto w Olsztynie. Dokumentacja naukowourbanistyczna. Gdańsk 1974— 1975 (maszynopis w archiwum PKZ Gdańsk).
• C. Wuns ch, Die Bau und Kunstdenkmaller der Stadt Allenstein. BD-I, s. 108.
• A. Wakar , Olsztyn 1935— 1945 . Olsztyn 1971, s. 136 i nast.
• Joanna Wańkowska-Sobiesiak, Północno-zachodni narożnik Starego Miasta w Olsztynie. Olsztyn 1978 (maszynopis w archiwum PKZ Olsztyn).
• A. Wakar , Prawda o 22 stycznia. „Gazeta Olsztyńska" z dn. 22.1.1991.
• Cz. В r o w i ń s к i, Olsztyn 1945— 1970. Olsztyn 1974, s. 315.
• T.Skurpsk i , K. B ę d kows k i , Projekt rewaloryzacji Starego Miasta w Olsztynie, 1980.
• M. Pową z ka. Z. P ochwa ł a , Koncepcja zagospodarowania placu Świerczewskiego w Olsztynie, 1978
• M. Pową z k a , Projekt techniczny odbudowy zabudowy ul. Staromiejskiej w Olsztynie, 1978.
• M. Bi r e z ows k a , A. M a c k i e w i c z , Olsztyn, plac Gen. K. Świerczewskiego. Wyniki nadzorow archeologicznych z wykopu pod budowę Domu „Gazety Olsztyńskiej". Olsztyn 1988, s. 1 i nast.

Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247