From the perspective of a fellow: Adrianna Brechelke on Polish cities after World War II and her research stay at the Herder Institute

The image of the cities incorporated into Poland after World War II covering the northern and western lands is an interesting, not yet fully researched issue that has its impact on the urban fabric and, consequently, on the daily lives of the residents. This, from an architect’s perspective, intriguing topic formed the basis for efforts to understand spatial dependencies in these areas.

The research project implemented at the Institute, therefore, concerned the analysis of the pre-war and post-war urban tissue of selected cities in the so-called Recovered Territories and included cities located in the West Pomeranian, Lubusz and Lower Silesian provinces – Kolobrzeg, Glogow, Goleniow, Swinoujscie and Stargard. These cities are different in size, urban layout and architecture, but have a common ground.

Each was characterized by significant destruction of the urban tissue resulting from warfare fluctuating between 50% and even 90%. There was also a break in cultural continuity in each of them, which had its consequences in post-war spatial development. In the context of architecture and urban planning, it represents an extremely interesting phenomenon.

Research at the Herder Institute and its collections

Thanks to the Herder Institute’s rich collection, it was possible to make urban-historical analyses of selected cities to determine urban development at the turn of the 20th century, as well as the stages of post-war reconstruction. New archival sources, previously not analyzed, contributed to the knowledge of a broader historical and spatial context.

The Archives of the Herder Institute in Marburg have a rich collection of pre-war documents related to the region of the so-called „Recovered Territories,“ in particular an extensive stock of photographs, aerial photographs, newspaper clippings, archival material on the cities and their histories, or an extensive library collection. The possibility of using these resources and direct access to the collections was an extremely important aspect of the project.

Comparison with historical aerial photographs

Great importance was played by correlating maps and plans of individual cities with aerial photographs from the 1930s. They made it possible to identify the spatial structure of the cities, including the layout of streets, public places, residential and industrial areas.

Analyses showed that each city had a characteristic spatial structure with a specific layout of streets and quarters developed linked in accordance with the historical-urban conjuncture. This gives a common denominator in the process of analyzing historic cities – another bracket linking the various periods of urban development.

Cities between destruction and reconstruction

The military savagery that occurred at the beginning of 1945 consequently led to massive destruction and was a kind of caesura in the history of cities. On the example of Kolobrzeg, a city almost completely destroyed, thanks to the collected materials, the process of post-war reconstruction becomes apparent.

In the case of Kolobrzeg, this included planned reconstruction in line with the tenets of post-war modernism dating back to the 1970s, but also post-modern tendencies, in which the architecture gives the impression of oldness through references to historical elements and the recreation of quarters of similar dimensions to the pre-war fabric.

In other cities, the tendencies varied – in Stargard and Goleniow the reconstruction was carried out in the style of post-war modernism, and in Swinoujscie the existing tissue was supplemented with blocks of flats.

In the case of the old town in Glogow, the modernist reconstruction stage did not take place, and the entire old town area was redesigned based on the pre-war layout.  In each of the urban layouts, however, the pre-war street layout and post-fortress greenery have been preserved almost entirely.

Differences and similarities in the urban development

Comparing and identifying the changes taking place in the structure of my chosen cities allowed to understand the differences and similarities in the urban development of these places. It showed that the character of the cities, despite being based on the preserved canvas of the street layout, through the use of different architectural means gives completely different impressions and perceptions of old city spaces. This also made it possible to determine how the spatial structure has survived or changed.

The library’s rich resources also made it possible to correlate the collected visual data with the historical and political context, which in large part explained urban planning decisions that depended on the cities‘ economic potential.

Personal experiences during the research stay at the Herder Institute

My residence at the Herder Institute provided a significant opportunity to expand my scientific knowledge. Access to rich archival resources enabled me to deepen my analysis of issues related to spatial transformations, which contributed significantly to my further research.

Unpublished and previously unknown archival materials provided new insights into the research issues discussed, which added significant value to my work. The process of searching and exploring archival resources was extremely fascinating and engaging.

The institute provides an inspiring environment, where I met people with a deep passion for science and ready to provide support. As a result, the intensive month I spent at the Institute passed extremely quickly, and the supportive atmosphere had an extremely positive impact on the effectiveness of my research.