In Bydgoszcz, the renovation of a tenement house at 66 Toruńska Street has been completed. Even before the work began, the more than 100-year-old building had already attracted the attention of passers-by, as German and Polish inscriptions from different periods were clearly visible on its façade. After the unveiling of the restored façade, a lively discussion moved to social media and the local press. A flashpoint turned out to be the decision to keep the German inscriptions and at the same time paint over some of the Polish traces of remembrance.
History of the building at 66 Toruńska Street
The first owner of the tenement was the innkeeper Friedrich Galow. It was he who invested in its construction at the end of the 19th century, responding to the needs of the growing city. Around 1910, the building housed the “Bromberger Arbeiterheim” Workers’ House, which served as a meeting place for various professional communities. The building also had a catering and recreational area. In subsequent years, a casino also operated there. After 1920, when Bydgoszcz returned to Poland, the tenement house passed into the hands of the municipal authorities. Its interiors housed a grocery shop and a bakery run by Antoni Klein. Painted advertisements for products such as milk or eggs, as well as the entrepreneur’s name, appeared on the facade of the building at that time. Over the following years, bilingual signs reminded visitors of the town’s history and its changing fortunes. At the same time, the building was deteriorating and was in such a state that its façade needed urgent renovation.
Controversial conservationist decisions
Recently, it was finally decided to carry out the necessary works. These included the façade including its details. The brick surface of the first floor was refreshed, the light colours of the ground floor with rustication were restored, and the whole was completed with renewed cornices and window pediments. However, the approach to the historical inscriptions caused the greatest excitement. Traces of Polish advertisements from the inter-war period were removed from the façade, with only the inscription “Antoni Klein” being renewed. At the same time, the German signboard “Bromberger Arbeiterheim” was exposed. It was this selection of layers that caused controversy.
German inscriptions and reactions
After the façade was unveiled, an avalanche of comments appeared on the internet criticising the prominence of the German signboard while removing Polish inscriptions advertising ‘bread’ or ‘milk’. The provincial conservator of monuments, quoted by the “Express Bydgoszcz”, claims that his decision was correct. In addition, he appeals not to repeat actions from 1945, when traces of the past were systematically erased and every object was stripped of its multi-layered identity. According to the conservator, in this case, the housing community, which wanted to preserve the German inscription as part of the building’s history, played an important role.
The tenement house before and after the facade renovation. Photo Wikibenchris, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons and UMB
German and Polish inscriptions – layers of memory
The dispute surrounding the tenement at 66 Torunska Street is not going away. The fact that both the name of a Polish entrepreneur and that of a German worker’s house have been preserved on the façade does not change anything for many people. On the other hand, no one notices the inconsistent window frames, which have a very negative impact on the aesthetics and composition of the façade. This is not the first time that renovated post-German inscriptions have been criticised. Voices of dissent can be heard practically with every such renovation. They were particularly loud recently when plans were announced to renovate the Grunwald Bridge in Wrocław with the restoration of inscriptions removed from the structure after the war.
In the face of these events, we are now faced with the challenge of how to interpret our past so that it is understandable and fair to all its phases.
Source: bydgoszczinformuje.pl, tygodnikbydgoski.pl
Read also: Architecture in Poland | Metamorphosis | Renovation | Monument | Bydgoszcz
