Destination Poland - two cultural architecture routes
Tourist guides and tourist information services in Poland stress what visitors can find in cities. By far, most attention goes to ryneks (central city squares), historic buildings, churches, castles, parks and museums, and the eventful and often dramatic Polish history. We give another suggestion: visit the presentday new cultural architecture in Polish cities. It is Poland's new urban face.
Two trips are presented:
- North-West Poland, a roundtour Szczecin - Gdansk - Lodz - Poznan - Szczecin (1200 km.), below on this page; and
- South-East Poland, Krakow - Lublin - Katowice - Krakow (780 km), on a next page.
Two Polish cities receive many visitors: Warsaw and Krakow. Gdansk and Wroclaw are reasonably popular - their old towns can be quite crowded during weekends with Polish visiors. But in many other main cities you find fewer visitors. For example Szczecin in the Northwest. It is 2 hours by train of car from Berlin, it is a pleasant city with a lot of green and water, but relatively few people go to Szczecin. Perhaps because Szczecin does not have a historic rynek like many other Polish cities have. After the devastating WWII demolitions it was decided in Szczecin to erect new buildings rather than reconstructing old buildings, like cities such as Gdansk and Warsaw did. No old world charm in Szczecin, but a plesant city anyway with beautiful new architecture.
Source mao: Central Statistical Office Poland
Our focus is on new Polish cultural architecture in their context; museums, theatres, and the like. Cultural buildings in the public domain, with (partial) open access. No shopping malls (with one exception; Manufaktura in Lodz), no office towers, no churches, no buildings that are visible only after passing a paywall. 'New' was arbitrarily taken as buildings that were opened 2010 onwards, new constructions and some redevelopments of existing structures, like in Lodz. ‘New’ is not a precise concept – redevelopment contains physically old elements, with added newness and repurposing.
Poland North West: Szczecin, Gdansk, Lodz, Poznan
A week's trip to visit new cultural architecture in Northwestern Poland is very satisfying. We start the route in Szczecin, but any of the places could serve as a start. Wizzair and Ryanair serve all main Polish cities. We picture interesting architecture, and no need for suggestions on how to travel. Architourists are generally more mature travellers who can find their own way.
Szczecin Filharmonia
The Filharmonia was opened in 2014 and with the selection of this modern building, the decision makers took a bold decision. Filharmonia is located in the city centre, with Solidarity Square (see below) in front. The Filharmonia was erected on the place where the pre-war Konzerthaus (Concert Hall) was located. Remember that Szczecin was German till 1945 and was transferred to Poland during the Potsdam Agreement (check this link)
The Filharmonia is among our favourites of Polish new architecture. The building won the prestigeous Mies van der Rohe Award for new architecture in 2015. The setting of the Filharmonia is very nice with a big square in front, and the old (renovated) Police Station as neighbour. Walking around and taking a coffee in the main hall of the building is a good start to get first impressions of the place. The main hall is mostly white. It gives a sensation of volume, of space.
Joining a guided tour is highly recommended. It is in Polish, but go anyway. The tour guides are wonderful and do some whispertranslation and answer questions. You'll find out that Filharminia is a place for people from all walks of life. In the Hague, the Netherlands, a new white town hall was opened in 1995, also a big white building. It soon got the nickname 'the Ice Palace', indicating the feelings of the Hague's citizens. In Szczecin, the white building is not a cold place at all, it is a human place. Szczecin citizens are proud of their Filharmonia. After its opening, the Filharmonia rapidly became a symbol of Szczecin's city identity.
The website of the Filharmonia has a virtual tour that gives a nice impression - a bit lighther than reality though.
Links:
https://filharmonia.szczecin.pl/,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Q_PK-w6SA&t=2s
(click to enlarge pictures)
Szczecin - National Museum Dialogue Centre Przelomy (Dialogue Centre Upheavals) / Solidarity square
The Diagolue Centre Upheavels opened in 2016, and is located next to the Szczecin Filharmonia. It is an underground pavilion and Solidarity Square is the ‘roof’ of the centre. The Centre is a place for meetings and debates regarding controversial subjects related to the newest history of Szczecin, Pomerania, Poland and the world. Solidarity Square was built on the place where sixteen demonstrating workers were killed in the 1970s. The square has been a symbolic and natural place for various rallies and meetings, up to the present day.
The exterior of the Dialogue Centre is a series of big panels that are opened when opening hours start. Outside opening hours, it is an iron wall. The Centre has spaces for meetings and a museum-like exhibition of Szczecin's history from WWII onwards. This exhibition is undergroud and a bit dark - from an architecture point there is not much to discover. But the exhibition is impressive and shows the exile of the German inhabitants at the end of WWII, how the empty city looked like and how Polish people entered and Russian miltary controlled the city. Wikipedia gives a succinct description of the 1945-present history of Pomerania (url).
Links:
https://www.archdaily.com/805069/national-museum-in-szczecin-dialogue-centre-przelomy-kwk-promes
Szczecin - Maritime Science Centre (Morskie Centrum Nauki)
The Morskie Centrum Nauki building was ready late 2022. The building is situated along the Odra river, in an urban redevelopment zone with ample open pubic space. The Centre combines modern science with museum displays and provides scientific entertainment for all ages. Maritime, shipping, fisheries, shipbuilding are natural choices, driven by Western Pomerania's history and priorities. There will also be a planetarium. The Centre is also be involved in science and arts and development projects. The opening of the Centre was in May 2023 - in 2022 we found the doors still closed - an an update will be given later.
Link
Gdansk - European Solidarity Centre (ECS)
ECS was opened in 2014. It is a cultural institution that commemorates the development of the Solidarity movement and the fall of communism in Europe. ECS is a museum and also an educational, research and academic centre. It includes an archive, a library and multimedia library and a public meeting space. There is also a platform on top of the building with nice views of the harbour area where a lot of new development is planned.
The location of ECS is significant - ECS is on the former shipyard where the Solidarity movement started. The building and the open space are big and have a spacious lay-out meant to receive many visitors. During weekdays students pay educational visits to ECS. After passing through the gate - largely kept as it was during the communist period, the rusty steel walls of the building and the big open space are remarkable. The big hall with escalators is impressive, with hugh photos of the Solidarity movement on the walls. The interior does not really have the true look and feel of a museum - community centre, it feels like a mix of a big museum - mall - university / conference centre. The interior is interesting architecture. The public space outside is very nice.
Links
Gdansk - Museum of the Second World War
The Museum of the Second World War was opened in 2017. It is located located next to a canal in the district Wiadrownia that was destroyed during fighting in 1945, just outside the city centre. The musuem has ample public space. It has a main exhibition occupying an area of over 5,000 square meters. A tower rising 40 metres above the new public square is the main architectural feature of the building. Entry hall and exhibition spaces are underground.
Links:
