Florence, Barcelona, Jerusalem, Vienna, or Tokyo are great examples of cities worth visiting due to their rich architecture and unique views. However, as the old saying goes, sometimes the darkest place is right under the lamp post, and you don’t need to look that far to experience such impressions.
Sometimes, in Poland, you can find wonderful examples of beautiful buildings. And sadly, it is often completely ignored and treated as a familiar, “safe,” and familiar element of the landscape. As an example, Bydgoszcz’s architecture, which is full of interesting stories and has very, very rich resources, can serve here.
Cieszkowskiego Street: a gem of architecture
When in the second half of the 19th century Bydgoszcz started to grow more and more, the city’s development was following towards the north from the center. One of the ambitious projects as part of this expansion was the establishment of Cieszkowskiego Street, which connected Gdańska Street and Pomorska Street.
Some tenement houses were already completed in 1897, while the entire street was complete only in 1905. During this time, this section changed names three times, and originally it was known as Moltkestraße. That was the case until 1920 when it already had its name inspired by philosopher, economist, and a known friend of Zygmunta Krasińskiego – August Cieszkowski. Naturally, during World War II, the name was changed back to the Prussian version. After the end of the conflict, the last change occurred.
Who built Cieszkowskiego Street?
The construction involved a selection of architects associated with Bydgoszcz. Among them were Fritz Weidner, Józef Święcicki, Karl Bergner, Paul Böhm, and Rudolf Kern. This is an extremely important issue because thanks to such diversity, Cieszkowskiego Street owes its appearance today. Each one contributed their own input, and it resulted in many architectural styles incorporated into the whole. Moreover, Święcicki’s and Bergner’s designs themselves were in the spirit of eclecticism, which combines many styles and is characterized by great freedom.
Adding the works of Weidner, Kern, and Böhm, the street gained even more color. These architects are responsible for the buildings constructed in a picturesque style. Details inspired by avant-garde complemented the already rich views of Bydgoszcz. Thanks to this, the city’s residents can now enjoy the beauty of the architecture, which is considered the flagship representative of the belle époque.
In these more aged buildings, elements of Neo-Renaissance, Neo-Baroque, and Secession can be noticed. And all of this – architectural and historical richness – under our noses! Most of these tenement houses are rightly included in the list of landmarks and undoubtedly are a source of pride for all residents of Bydgoszcz.
Not only apartments
Cieszkowskiego Street has a residential character – beautiful tenement houses mainly house apartments. But not only that. The extremely elegant style of the street makes renowned companies, mainly notary and legal offices, choose it as their location. We can also find workshops specializing in noble crafts such as goldsmithing. However, the historic character of the street does not mean that we won’t find companies in the field of modern technologies here. “Pod halabardnikiem” tenement house is home to Talem Technologies, the oldest Bydgoszcz company specializing in website positioning.
A certain dissatisfaction arises, however, from the poorly marked presence of the gastronomy industry. In other cities, fine restaurants, stylish cafes, and clubs are usually located on streets of this class. In the case of Cieszkowskiego Street, there is still a lot to be done in this area. Hopefully, Bydgoszcz restaurateurs will be able to make use of the potential of this architectural gem of the city.
