Piotra Skargi street is a historical street of downtown

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

Location

Piotra Skargi Street is a rather short path, starting at Freedom Square or Plac Wolności, on the west side, and leading eastward to May 3rd street.

History

While the main axis of downtown

( pl, Śródmieście), Gdańska Street, grew quickly after 1835, it took more time for side areas to develop as well. The first reference of Piotr Skarga street in city address book of

Bromberg Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...

dates back to 1872. First map to mention the street bears the year 1876. Through history, the street bore the following names: * 1870s-1920,

Hoffmann Hoffmann is a German surname. People A * Albert Hoffmann (1846–1924), German horticulturist * Alexander Hoffmann (born 1975), German politician * Arthur Hoffmann (politician) (1857–1927), Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Cou ...

straße; * 1920–1940, Piotra Skargi street; * 1940–1945,

straße; * Since 1945, Piotra Skargi street. Actual namesake comes from

Piotr Skarga Piotr Skarga (less often Piotr Powęski; 2 February 1536 – 27 September 1612) was a Polish Jesuit, preacher, hagiographer, polemicist, and leading figure of the Counter-Reformation in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Due to his oratorica ...

(1536–1612), a Polish

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, preacher,

hagiographer A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

polemicist Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

, and leading figure of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

Main edifices

Tenement at 2, in the corner with
Casimir the Great Park Casimir the Great Park is the oldest park in Bydgoszcz, Poland, covering an area of 2.24 ha. The park is located in a central part of downtown Bydgoszcz, bordered by Gdańska Street, Bydgoszcz, Gdańska Street, Father Stanisław Konarski Str ...
and Freedom Square

Early 1870s

Eclecticism Eclecticism is a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories in ...

The house at then ''Hoffmann straße 13'' was initially the villa for the general commanding the 7th Infantry Brigade billeted in

, today in Pomorska Street. First tenant in 1872 was Ludwig von La Chevallerie. In the 1920s, the tenement was inhabited by displaced Poles that left former eastern territories, or

Kresy Eastern Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Wschodnie) or simply Borderlands ( pl, Kresy, ) was a term coined for the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic, it ...

, as a consequence of the

Peace of Riga The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga ( pl, Traktat Ryski), was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, among Poland, Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish–Soviet War. ...

: Maria Górska and her family. Today, the edifice houses the Regional Inspectorate for the Protection of the Environment ( pl, Wojewódzki Inspektorat Ochrony Środowiska w Bydgoszczy). The house stands out first by its entry

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

adorned with

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

protect the gate. A

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

with floral motifs runs all around the top. The facade on Piotra Skargi Street shows delicate decoration on the second floor:

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...

s displaying human figure,

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

s supported by

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

s. A

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

stands on the side of the villa giving onto Freedom Square, adorned by

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s on the ground floor. The building has been extended in the 1970s with a glass extension on

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

. File:N°2 entry.jpg, The gate with its

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

File:N°2 elevation.jpg, Facade on Piotra Skargi Street File:Bdg Skargi2 WojIspOchrSrod 1 6-2015.jpg, View of the

File:N°2 park.jpg, Facade on the

File:N°2 detail.jpg, Detail of the

Hugo Bille Villa, at 3, corner with Freedom Square

Registered on

Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...

heritage list, Reg.A/263/1, May 28, 1991zabytek, kujawsko-pomorskie, issued=1.03.2014 1886, by Józef Swiecicki and

Anton Hoffmann Anton Hoffmann was an important designer and builder in Prussian-time Bydgoszcz during the entire second half of the 19th century. He witnessed the transformation of Bydgoszcz, creating numerous residential buildings throughout the city. His activ ...

Neo-Baroque The villa was designed and built in 1886 for a well-known Bydgoszcz doctor, Hugo Bille. At then ''Hoffmann straße 1&1a'', the ophthalmologist and hospital doctor ran a medical cabinet. Dr. Bille was also a practitioner at the Luisen Stift (in present time Swederowo district) and at the Deaconess hospital (in today's Bielawy district). He was additionally the landlord of a vast tenement at today's ''9 Zduny street'', at the corner with Warmińskiego street. In 1910, it was owned by a pensioner Mr Dentler, who had as tenant Julius Von Rogowski, the General Commanding the 4th Artillerie Brigade in

. After 1920, another physician, Jan Król lived there. He was the owner of the clinic at Gimnazjalna 2a, specialised in nervous diseases. Since 1992, the edifice houses a restaurant, ''"Villa calvados"''. The main elevation of the villa gives onto a small garden, neighbouring Plac Wolności. It has a

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

, with a bulky middle

avant-corps An ''avant-corps'' ( it, avancorpo or , plural , german: Risalit, pl, ryzalit), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the ''corps de logis'', often taller than othe ...

, highlighted by a semicircle one floor high second

. the latter is adorned with

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s, all the ground floor windows being

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

ed. Larger openings appear on the first floor, with

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

and

s and

for

chambranle In architecture and joinery, the chambranle is the border, frame, or ornament, made of stone or wood, that is a component of the three sides round chamber doors, large windows, and chimneys. When a chambranle is plain and without mouldings, it is ...

. A small

tops the main

, and a

corbel table In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

caps it all. The gate on Piotra Skargi street displays a nice semicircle transom light and delicate carved motifs. File:Bydgoszcz, ul Piotra Skargi 3 AW.jpg, View from Plac Wolności File:Willa P Skargi Bydg 2008.jpg, Main elevation File:N°3.jpg, View from the street File:N°3 gate.jpg, Gate on Piotra Skargi Street

Tenement at 5, corner with corner with Mikołaja Reja Street

1880s

Secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

This tenement at then ''Hoffmann straße 2'' was the property of Ms Raaß in 1882, then of Emma Stengert. None of the original frontage decoration survived. The main elevation is topped by a large triangular

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

. Side facade on

Mikołaj Rej Mikołaj Rej or Mikołaj Rey of Nagłowice (4 February 1505 – between 8 September/5 October 1569) was a Polish poet and prose writer of the emerging Renaissance in Poland as it succeeded the Middle Ages, as well as a politician and musician. H ...

street displays a mural painting, "Self-determination" ( pl, Samookreślenie), one of 20 pieces in

streets. File:Skargi 5 1945.jpg, View ca 1945 File:N°5.jpg, View from the street File:N°5 gate.jpg, Main gate File:Skargi 5 backyard.jpg, Back view File:Mural N°5.jpg, Wall painting at Nr.5

Tenement at 6

1880s

This tenement at then ''Hoffmann straße 11'' has been designed as habitation building for pensioners. The right-side facade displays a mural painting, ''Śniadanie Mistrzów'' ('' en, Breakfast of Champions'') realized by three local artists, Spectrum, Etam and Pain. This work is a part of an ensemble of more than 20 pieces scattered in

streets. File:N°6 main.jpg, View from the street File:Mural N°6.jpg, Wall painting at Nr.6

Tenement at 7, corner with Mikołaja Reja Street

Early 1880s

Dr Agnes Schulß, a head teacher, was the first landlord of this tenement at then ''Hoffmann straße 3''. She lived there until the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Today, the edifice houses, among others, the ''"Paderewski Music Society in Bydgoszcz"'' ( pl, Towarzystwo Muzyczne im. I. J. Paderewskiego w Bydgoszczy), a cultural association engaged in the development of music and musical culture in the city. This association organizes every 3 years the "International Paderewski Piano Competition" in

: the 10th occurrence will happen from 6 to 20 November 2016. The facade on Piotra Skargi Street is rather common, except some nice

palmette The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has a far-reaching history, originating in ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art o ...

motifs inscribed in

s. On the other hand, the elevation on

street reveals more decorative features with vegetal

ornaments An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...

and a stylized

festoon A festoon (from French ''feston'', Italian ''festone'', from a Late Latin ''festo'', originally a festal garland, Latin ''festum'', feast) is a wreath or garland hanging from two points, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depicti ...

topped by an

oeil-de-boeuf An ''oeil-de-boeuf'' (; en, "bull's eye"), also ''œil de bœuf'' and sometimes anglicized as ''ox-eye window'', is a relatively small elliptical or circular window, typically for an upper storey, and sometimes set in a roof slope as a do ...

. This side of the tenement gives access to a garden, overlooked by a

balcony A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Maltese balcony is ...

. File:N°7.jpg, Main elevation from the street File:N°7 Gate.jpg, Entry gate File:N7 side street.jpg, Side facade view File:N7 side balcony.jpg, Garden and

File:N7 detail facade.jpg, Side facade ornamentation

Old dairy factory, at 9

1880s

This tenement at then ''Hoffmann straße 4'' was the location of a steam powered dairy factory, in the backyard. Established in the 1880s by Heinrich Engell, then taken over by Michael Diethelm in 1893. The factory which bore his name ( pl, Młeczarnia Diethelm) ran till the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The tenement itself is pretty common. On the left side, in the courtyard, old

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

buildings from the dairy factory are still visible, with the main house, the boiler house and the stables. File:N°9.jpg, Main elevation File:Back N°9.jpg, Backyard buildings from the dairy era File:Molkerei Diethelm 1898.jpg, Advertising for Diethelm's dairy factory in 1898

Tenement at 10

1876

This tenement at then ''Hoffmann straße 9'' was first owned by Oswald Wene, a police administrative assistant. It then moved to the hands of pensioners, Mr Sieg and Ms ßommer. The tenement, with typical

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

features, was mainly a habitation house. It still retains window

s on the first floor,

motifs at the top of the frontage, as well as an original

on the side. The edifice has been renovated in 2019. File:N°10.jpg, Main elevation after refurbishing File:N°10 Detail.jpg, Detail of ornamentation

Tenement at 12

1877-1878

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

This tenement at then ''Hoffmann straße 8'' has been designed as a habitation building. In the 1880s, one of the tenants was Ernst Schmid director of the ''Civic School for Girls'' ( ger, Städtische mitlere Töchterschule), in nearby Konarskiego street, now the building of the

Art School. The elevation has neoclassical ornamentation: triangular

s at first floor windows,

at the top, and shed

dormer A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. A dormer window (also called ''dormer'') is a form of roof window. Dormers are commonly used to increase the usable space ...

on the

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

. The entry still retains its original numbering, "8", painted on the wall. File:N°12.jpg, Main facade File:Skargi 12 gate.jpg, Entry wall with its original number

Tenement at 13, corner with 3 Maja street

1894-1895

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

This tenement at then ''6 Hoffmann straße'' has been designed as a habitation building. In the 1890s, one of the tenants were Clara & Hans Joop, photographs, relatives of Theodore Joop, famous photograph of the city: Hans and Clara ran the studio located at ''Wilhelm straße 15'', now Focha Street. The architecture reflects main features of end of 19th century eclecticism, so present in the streets of Bydgoszcz (e.g.

Dworcowa Street Dworcowa Street is one of the main streets of Bydgoszcz, in Downtown district ( pl, Śródmieście). Many of its buildings are registered on Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Heritage List. Across the street, between Warmia and Marcinkowskiego ...

, Gdańska Street or Pomorska Street). One can notice

ed windows on the ground floor, designed to house shops or restaurant. A small

overhangs the corner entry. File:N°13.jpg, Corner view File:View West.jpg, Street view with facade at Nr.13 on the right

Tenement at 14, corner with 3 Maja street

1870s

This tenement at then ''Hoffmann straße 7'' has been designed as a renting house by the landlord, Karl Roßoll, living at nearby ''Hempel straße'' (now 3 Maja street). From 1927 to 1938, the premises housed the Municipal Institute of Music ( pl, Miejski Instytut Muzyczny), before it moved to 71 Gdańska Street. The tenement is unfortunately in bad shape. File:N°14 corner.jpg, Corner view File:N°14.jpg, View of the facade on Piotra Skargi street

References

External links

*
Regional Inspectorate for the Protection of the Environment at Nr.2
*
Villa Calvados Restaurant at Nr.3

International Paderewski Piano Competition Bydgoszcz Association, Nr.7

Bibliography

** * * * {{authority control Cultural heritage monuments in Bydgoszcz Streets and squares in Bydgoszcz Villas in Bydgoszcz Music schools in Poland

Location

History

Main edifices

Hugo Bille Villa, at 3, corner with Freedom Square

Tenement at 5, corner with corner with Mikołaja Reja Street

Tenement at 6

Tenement at 7, corner with Mikołaja Reja Street

Old dairy factory, at 9

Tenement at 10

Tenement at 12

Tenement at 13, corner with 3 Maja street

Tenement at 14, corner with 3 Maja street

See also

References

External links

Bibliography