Aleksander Olszyński Building

Aleksander Olszyński Tenement
Polish: Kamienica Aleksandra Olszyńskiego
Tenement at 58 Gdańska Street
General information
Type	Tenement
Architectural style	Neo-Renaissance & Neo-Baroque, with Eclecticism style elements
Location	58 Gdańska Street, Bydgoszcz,  Poland
Coordinates	53°7′51″N 18°0′32″E
Groundbreaking	1894
Completed	1895
Client	Aleksander Olszyński
Technical details
Floor count	4
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Henrich Arndt

The Aleksander Olszyński Tenement is a habitation house built in the late 19th century from a design by architect Heinrich Arndt in Bydgoszcz,[1] Poland, and located at 58 Gdańska Street.

Location

The building stands on the eastern side of Gdańska Street, between Słowackiego street and Adam Mickiewicz Alley. It is adjacent to the Chapel of the Sisters of the Poor Clares at N.56 and the Carl Meyer tenement at N.60, both Bydgoszcz historical buildings.

History

The building was erected in 1894-1895 for the carpenter Alexander Olszyński,[2] living at this time at 1 Boiestrasse, on a design by Heinrich Arndt, a Bromberg master mason.[1]

In 1910, the ground floor was refurbished by designer Gustav Habermann to accommodate a business venture. Before the outbreak of World War I, the building housed the offices of the "German Association for People's Health in Bydgoszcz".

In the 1920s, Kochańscy Brothers & Kunzle (Polish: Bracia Kochańscy i Künzl) run a jewelry shop in the premises,[3] manufacturing gold and silver products. During the occupation of Poland, the building housed the main store of the Württemberg metal goods factory (German: WMF-Württemberger MetallwarenFabrik).

Architecture

One can still notice preserved and rich, Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque stucco decoration of the facade. Many original forms of the eclectic architectural details are also present, in particular the adorned wooden main door with a transom light.

Gallery

• 
  Main door and transom light
• 
  Indoor fresco

See also

• Bydgoszcz
• Gdanska Street in Bydgoszcz
• (in Polish) Downtown district of Bydgoszcz

References

1. Fritz Gerstenberg. "Nachrufe der Graunschweigischen Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft" (PDF). UB Braunschweig. Von Hermann Lagershausen. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015. Dr.-Ing. Hermann Arndt, geb. 15.12.1885, gest. 8.6.1963, wurde zu Schleusenau bei Bromberg (Prov. Posen) als Sohn des Maurermeisters Heinrich Arndt geboren.
2. Adressbuch nebst allgemeinem Geschäfts-Anzeiger von Bromberg und dessen Vororten auf das Jahr 1895 : auf Grund amtlicher und privater Unterlagen. Bromberg: Dittmann. 1895. p. 122.
3. Adresy Miasta Bydgoszcz na rok 1925. Bydgoszcz: Weber. 1925. p. 140.

Bibliography

• (in Polish) Bręczewska-Kulesza Daria, Derkowska-Kostkowska Bogna, Wysocka A. (2003). Ulica Gdańska. Przewodnik historyczny. Bydgoszcz: Wojewódzki Ośrodek Kultury w Bydgoszczy. ISBN 9788386970100.