In the first half of the 16th century, one of the most representative bourgeois residences in the whole of Pomerania was built in the centre of Szczecin. The building has survived for hundreds of years, testifying to the former power and influence of the Loitz family who built the building. Neither did the hecatomb of World War II, which swept through Szczecin like a bulldozer, manage to destroy the building. Today, the Gothic residence is among the city’s best known and most valuable monuments.
Residence of a rich family
The construction of the building began on the initiative of the influential and wealthy Hans II Loitz, whose family played a significant role in the economic and political life of the city at the time. The Loitz family had extensive business contacts, ran one of the largest banks in the region, and their wealth and prestige reached far beyond the borders of Pomerania.
Architecture with flair
The residence was built on the site of an older building, probably dating from the 15th century. The new family seat was completed in 1547. It was built with unheard-of grandeur, attesting to the aspirations and standing of the Loitz family. The form and scale of the building was in keeping with the nearby Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes, which was just undergoing expansion. It was situated on a small plot of land sloping down towards the Oder River and was characterised by an asymmetrical body and a representative staircase tower. The building was constructed of brick, with plastered facades covered with a masquerade decoration typical of late Gothic architecture in Pomerania.
Loitz tenement house with a façade full of details
The front elevation on the side of Kurkowa Street was reshaped after the war, retaining the seven-axis layout. The window openings with cataract arches are grouped in pairs and their arrangement is differentiated between the storeys. The building’s characteristic features include diagonal sills and masonry with trillium and donkey back motifs. A copy of the Renaissance panel depicting the Conversion of St Paul has been placed at the level of the first floor. The original of this sculpture is in the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin.
From the Mansion to the Swiss Court
After the death of Elector Joachim II in 1571, who had borrowed heavily from the Loitz family, the family lost its solvency. Shortly thereafter, after declaring bankruptcy, its members left Szczecin and moved to Nowy Dwór Gdański. The family residence was then taken over by the Pomeranian dukes. After the demise of the Griffin dynasty, the building fell into the hands of the Swedish official Rosenhand. In the 18th century, the house was acquired by the Swiss Dubendorf family. During this time, the building gained a new function as a popular patisserie, known as the Swiss Court.
The Loitz House in the 1920s and today. Source: Bildarchiv Foto Marburg and Szczecinolog, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Loitz House – destruction and transformation
Over the years, the residence underwent modernisations, losing its original character. In the 19th century it was finally transformed into a tenement house. To this end, an extra storey was added to the building, the windows were re-bricked and the impressive façade was partly covered. The house survived in this condition until 1944, when the interiors and roofs were burnt down during Allied air raids on what was then the German city of Stettin. Only the outer walls, the tower and the cellar vaults survived. The Old Town itself was literally wiped off the face of the earth. Losses were estimated at more than 90%.
Post-war reconstruction and new function
The Loitz House was among the first monuments to be rebuilt in the now Polish Szczecin after the war. Between 1951 and 1955, work was carried out under the direction of the Monuments Conservation Workshop, reconstructing the damaged walls and roofs and removing the superstructure, restoring the building’s original proportions. However, the full reconstruction of the decorative gables and tower helmet was abandoned. The completely burned-out interiors of the house were arranged for the needs of the State Secondary School of Fine Arts. Two Gothic granaries were also incorporated into the complex and connected to the main building. Initially, the facades of the renovated monument were kept in white colours. It was only after stratigraphic research in 2000 that the brick shade of the facades was restored, close to the original appearance of the building.
Szczecin’s Old Town in the 1930s and in 2020. Source: Bildarchiv Foto Marburg and Google Earth
The Loitz House as a heritage of the late Gothic period
The tenement house complex with its connected granaries is today one of the most valuable examples of Late Gothic bourgeois construction in the region. After the war, when the ruins of the ruined Old Town were removed, the building stood alone in the middle of nowhere. Over the years, its surroundings were systematically supplemented with new buildings, more or less successful. More often, unfortunately, less so. Today, the Loitz House functions as the headquarters of the Visual Arts School Complex, continuing the tradition of a place of high cultural and educational significance.
source: zabytek.pl
Read also: Renovation | History | City | Szczecin | Architecture in Poland | Tenement house
