August Mentzel Tenement

August Mentzel Tenement
Kamienica Augusta Mentzla

Tenement on Gdanska street 5

View from Gdanska Street
Location within Poland
General information
Type Habitation building
Architectural style Vienna Secession
Location Bydgoszcz, Poland
Address Gdanska Street 5
Town or city Bydgoszcz
Country Poland
Coordinates 53°07′29″N 18°00′09″E / 53.12472°N 18.00250°E / 53.12472; 18.00250
Completed 1853
Renovated 1909
Technical details
Floor count 5
Design and construction
Architect Rudolf Kern
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gdańska St.5 Bydgoszcz.

The August Mentzel Tenement is a habitation house located in Gdańska Street, Bydgoszcz.

History

Building

The original building, owned by pharmacist Constantin August Mentzel, was established in 1853.[1] Later, a complex of buildings were built, designed by Heinrich Mautz. It consisted of a front wing and outbuildings. On the north side of the house, there was a garden growing onto the street.

And from 1863, August Mentzel ran a homeopathic pharmacy in that building. He used herbs from the garden to produce medicines and ointments sold in his shop.[2]

Advertisement A. Mentzel in 1868

Later in 1909, the chemist Alfred Jacob who owned the building carried out a major refurbishment, carried out by the architect Rudolf Kern. The tenement was extended by a north wing, moving the garden to the back of the property. Renovation also changed the arrangement of the facade, which gave the actual sight of exteriors.

Now, the ground floor of the building still houses one of the oldest pharmacies of Bydgoszcz, "Pod Łabędziem" (Under the Swan).[3] In 2006, a sculptured golden swan, used as the signboard from the 19th century until the 1950s was fixed back onto the facade.

Pharmacy Under the Swan

The pharmacy Under the Swan, established on 27 December 1853, was the third in the city after pharmacies "Pod Czarnym Orłem" (Under the Black Eagle) and "Pod Złotym Orłem" (Under the Golden Eagle). During this period of time in Europe, pharmacies were often named after the names and values of animals. Thus, August Mentzel named his pharmacy "Under the Swan", as this bird is associated with deep symbolism and its sign is easy to remember.[4]

After World War II the pharmacy was nationalized, and was renamed "Social Pharmacy No. 39". The swan signboard was remmoved and taken to the Pharmacy Museum in Kraków. Around 1975, the pharmacy regained its traditional name.

Golden Swan

The gold alloy cast swan figure has been used as the pharmacy emblem probably since the opening. The figure is fixed on a beam protruding from the wall above the main entrance.[5]

In 1959, Dr. Stanisław Proń from the Museum of Pharmacy in Kraków, having received permission from the Ministry of Health, was traveling across Poland to collect interesting pharmacy antiques to add to the museum collections. He noticed the Bydgoszcz's swan and brought it to Kraków. The golden swan was discovered in the warehouse of the Kraków Museum of Pharmacy in Jagiellonian University and was given back to the Bydgoszcz Museum of Pharmacy in July 2006. The actual swan sign is an epoxy resin copy of the antique one, realized by a local artist, Bogusław Czerwiński.[6]

Pharmacy museum

On 27th December 2003, 150 years after the opening of the pharmacy, pharmacist and collector, Bartholomew Wodyński opened the Pharmacy Museum in Bydgoszcz, at the rear of Under the Swan building.[7]

Architecture

The house has a Vienna Secession decoration on the facade, which features stylized swan motifs. Art Nouveau style is typical of Rudolf Kern.[8] He also has erected or redesigned other buildings in Gdanska Street, notably;

Gallery

See also

Bibliography

External links

References

  1. ↑ Einwohner, Adress und Telefonbücher von Bromberg-1855-p.21
  2. ↑ Article about the museum on Polish Pharmacy Portal
  3. ↑ Aleksander Drygas, Wojciech Ślusarczyk- Toruńskie Studia Bibliologiczne 2013, nr 1 (10)
  4. ↑ Article from Pomeranian Pharmacy association
  5. ↑ XVIII Sympozjum Historii Farmacji - Lidia Maria Czyż - 2009.07.13
  6. ↑ Article on Wyborcza Bydgoszcz
  7. ↑ Article from "Polish Pharmacies" website
  8. ↑ Iwona Jastrzębska-Puzowska: Od miasteczka do metropolii. Rozwój architektoniczny i urbanistyczny Bydgoszczy w latach 1850-1920.
Tenement panorama from Gdanska Street
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