EN
The complex of buildings in 20 Dworcowa Street in Szczecin, built in 1874, is the oldest preserved example of nineteenth-century post office architecture, conceived in the spirit of the idea expounded by Heinrich von Stephan, creator of the World Post Office Union. For more than a hundred and twenty five years, the object functioned uninterruptedly as a post office, confirming the aptness of the architectonic solutions accepted by the original designers: Carl Schwatlo and Karl Friedrich Endell. The building, granted a static and well balanced composition of monochromatic facades, disclosed an unexpectedly light interior. The original solutions of the outfitting resorted to material and technologies typical for the nineteenth century, and the accepted colours rendered possible an excellent display of the construction against the background of harmonious wall divisions. The renovation of the main hall was completed in 1995, restoring after several decades the initial scale and decorations of the most representative interior of the complex. The range of the investment consisted of removing the suspended ceiling, added in the post-war period, reconstructing part of the details, and a meticulous conservation of the whole object, especially two glass skylights and the supporting construction. The introduced modern elements of the technology do not compete with the historical assets. The conservation was conducted parallel with the modernisation of the post office, and thus required the close co-operation of the conservators and designers.