Jan Kochanowski Park is a green area covering 3,15 ha, located in downtown Bydgoszcz, Poland. It is part of the "Music district in Bydgoszcz" (Polish: Dzielnica muzyczna w Bydgoszczy) and is named after the Polish renaissance poet, Jan Kochanowski.
Location
The park is located in an area urbanized at the beginning of the 20th century. The park is rectangular, with dimensions 120 × 250 m, and is delineated by the following avenues:
The park has been designed by Konrad Neumann, then director of the Municipal gardens of Bromberg in 1901; its initial surface was 2.8 hectares (28,000 m2). It was part of urban plans laid out in 1903, and developed through 1911[1] The design was inspired from English gardens, with about 80 species of trees and ornamental trees, mainly endemical native species.[2] The main entrance was located at Bismark Platz, today at the junction between Słowackiego and January 20, 1920, streets. The northern edge on Bulöw Straße (Adam Mickiewicz Alley) was a lawn planted with roses and low shrubs.[3]
In January 1920, Bydgoszcz joined the re-created state of Poland. On July 31, 1927, a ceremony unveiled in the park the monument to Henryk Sienkiewicz, first of its kind in the country.
In particular, the park boasted elms and poplars 25 meters tall high and oaks with 300 to 480 cm circumference trunks.[3]
After World War II and the destruction of part of the trees, new plantings have been carried out in the post-war years. In 1952, during the construction of the Pomeranian Philharmonic hall, four 400 cm-perimeter oaks were cut down.[3] In 1958, the southern limit of the park has been extended to include the area of the Philharmonic. In 1960, in the northern part of the park, the statue The Archer, one of Bydgoszcz icons, was installed to a dedicated rectangular square.
In 2014, an overhaul of Jan Kochanowski Park has been performed, to highlight its historical character and link it with the Music District.[4] This works included:[5]
Renovation costed 4.8 million Polish złoty.[5] The newly refurbished park was open on August 13, 2015[7]
The re-construction of the park happened at the same time as the re-building of the new "son et lumière fountain" before the Pomeranian Philharmonic building, launched on May 23, 2014).[8]
Since its creation, the park bore the following names:[9]
From 1901 to 1920, and from 1939 to 1945 – Bismark Garten;
From 1920 to 1939, and since 1945 – Park im. Jana Kochanowskiego.
Jan Kochanowski park stands out among other city green areas as welcoming a large number of monuments.
First one, Henryk Sienkiewicz monument by Konstanty Laszczka, was unveiled in 1927, in presence of thousands of spectators, officials and the president of Poland Ignacy Mościcki. The memorial was destroyed by Nazis in September 1939, a new statue has been realized in May 1968, by Stanisław Horno-Popławski.
Since 1960, The Archer, realized in 1910 by Ferdinand Lepcke, has moved to Jan Kochanowski Park. It is one of the most valuable public sculpture in Bydgoszcz and considered as a real symbol of the city.
The Archer
The Archer after park renovation
In 1970, a monument portraying a broken rose, designed by Józef Makowski, was set up in the park. It commemorates the death of fifty pupils from the High School for boys, killed by Nazis on September 5, 1939.[10]
The monument by Józef Makowski
In 2007, the statue by Michał Kubiak of Andrzej Schwalbe (1923–2002), first director of the Pomeranian Philharmonic is present on the square facing the building.
Nearby the Pomeranian Philharmonic building stand red horse-chestnuts and umbrella hornbeam. In the same way, abutting the Main building of Bydgoszcz Music Academy grow silver maples, a large English oaks and rare conifer species (Douglas-fir, eastern white pine and savin juniper).[12]
In the park are registered 21 species, making it the second most rich park in Bydgoszcz, with regards to vegetal variety.
^Bręczewska-Kulesza, Daria (2015). Rola historycznej i współczesnej zieleni publicznej w życiu miast na przykładzie Bydgoszczy (in Polish). Bydgoszcz: Czasopismo Kultura-Historia-Globalizacja.
^Umiński, Janusz (1996). Bydgoszcz. Przewodnik. Bydgoszcz: Regionalny Oddział PTTK „Szlak Brdy”. ISBN8390528207.
^ abcdKuczma, Rajmund (1995). Zieleń w dawnej Bydgoszczy. Bydgoszcz: Instytut Wydawniczy „Świadectwo”.
Pastuszewski, Stefan (1996). Bydgoska Gospodarka Komunalna. Praca zbiorowa (in Polish). Bydgoszcz: Instytut Wydawniczy „Świadectwo”. ISBN83-85860-37-1.
Kaja, Renata (1995). Bydgoskie pomniki przyrody (in Polish). Bydgoszcz: Instytut Wydawniczy „Świadectwo”. ISBN83-85860-32-0.
Kuczma, Rajmund (1995). Zieleń w dawnej Bydgoszczy (in Polish). Bydgoszcz: Instytut Wydawniczy „Świadectwo”.
Umiński, Janusz (1996). Bydgoszcz-Przewodnik (in Polish). Bydgoszcz: Wydawnictwo Uczelniane Wyższej Pomorskiej Szkoły Turystyki i Hotelarstwa w Bydgoszczy.