Freedom Square, Bydgoszcz

Freedom Square in Bydgoszcz (Plac Wolności) is located in Bydgoszcz, Poland, in downtown area, between Gdańska Street and the park Casimir the Great.

Characteristics and Location
Freedom Square stands as an elegant place of Downtown district (Śródmieście) of Bydgoszcz, ornamented by Art Nouveau buildings, a historical church, a memorial and a green park. This is a location for recreational activities as well as military and official ceremonies.

The square is centrally located: on its western edge runs the Gdańska Street, heart of downtown Bydgoszcz. On its south border is the Casimir the Great Park, and to the east starts north the Gimnazjalna street.

History


The land square was formerly part of the garden of 17th century monastery "Sisters of the Poor Clares", along with the area of today's park Casimir the Great. In 1835, the Bydgoszcz City Beautification Society ( Verschönerungs – Verein zu Bromberg) founded on the east side of Gdańska Street a tree nursery tower grown to brighten up the eastern side of Gdanska Street. In 1854, a first and small square called the Place fodder (German: Kannonenplatz) existed. In 1859, the square was extended to the south and planted with trees and greenery, the entire project being financed by Major General Helmut Carl Christian von Weltzien. In 1860, the square was named in his honor (German: Weltzienplatz). Nursery trees in the square still functioned for several years, however, their importance was gradually reduced to the benefit of surfaces on which were erected buildings, High School Nr.1 and a church.

Originally its shape was a large rectangular square, with streets dividing it into four quarters. In 1873, the southern part of the square was used for the construction of the Lutheran church of St Peter's and St Paul. On 17 September 1893 a statue of Emperor Wilhelm I on horseback was erected in the center of the square: it was erected "in memoriam" of the deceased emperor, as a tribute to the creator of the German Reich and the father of the nation. The monument was funded partly by the city, partly by donation from wealthy citizens, like among others, Lewin Louis Aronsohn or Heinrich Dietz. This monument was short lived: after Bydgoszcz returned to Polish territory in 1919, the statue was dismantled and moved to the city of Meseritz (Międzyrzecz).

Later, in 1904, on the fringe of the Municipal Park (now the Park Casimir the Great) was established the monumental sculpted fountain "The Deluge". It remained for 40 years the most attractive sculpture of the city and a symbol of downtown Bydgoszcz, before being partially dismantled and melted down by German forces.



During the interwar period, Freedom Square was one of the most charming and well-kept places in Bydgoszcz, embellished by carpets of flowers. In 1938, a reconstruction project run by engineer Stefan Pietrzak modified the appearance of the square: the area adjacent to Gdańska Street was converted into a parking lot, with a lawn area leading to the park Casimir the Great.

In 1945, a memorial to freedom has been by architect Jan Kossowski at the center of the square, in honor of Soviet and Polish soldiers – liberators of the city from Nazi occupation. The monument still exists today, yet it was rebuilt in 1991, adding the following words, "Civitas Bydgostiensis Libera". In 1995, a bronze bas-relief (by Aleksander Dętkoś) was fixed on the memorial, commemorating both the fight for independence of the Poles and the return of Bydgoszcz city to Poland on 20 January 1920.

During the Polish People's Republic, a cannon stood on the square, in honor of a lieutenant colonel of the Red Army, Grzegorz Ivanovich Bolshanin. It was removed in 1964.

Architecture
The Freedom Square is enclosed by several different buildings on its northern front, several styles being represented, including Art Nouveau at Nr.3, Eclecticism at N.1 and 5, and Modern architecture at N.7. The neo-Romanesque St Peter's and St Paul's Church and the oldest city park lie on its southern border. The western side is delimited by Gdańska Street and Gimnazjalna street borders the east side.

Since 2004, restoration works have led to the recovering of the historic shape of the fountain "the Deluge", completed in 2014. In 2009–2010, a program of revitalization of the square has been carried out (alleys and greenery), together with a refurbishment of main facades.

Main locations and buildings
St Peter's and St Paul's Church registered on Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship heritage list, Nr.A/62, 5 October 1971.

Built in 1872–1878, by Berlin architect Friedrich Adler: Eclecticism and Gothic Revival.

From 1878 to 1945, the temple was devoted to the congregation of the Evangelical Union. In 1945, it has been dedicated to Catholic liturgy, then to a parish church since 1946. Above the main altar stands a painting of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1850), by Maksymilian Piotrowski, inspired from the former Jesuit church standing at the very place.

Miscellaneous
On the square grows a planetree registered on the Polish Natural Monument list: this 346 cm trunk circumference tree stands beside St Peter's and St Paul's Church.

In the immediate vicinity of High School Nr.1, at Gimnazjalna Street 2a, stands a neoclassical building built in 1865. During interwar was located there a private clinic for nervous diseases run by Dr. Króla. It served as a military hospital during World War II, and from 1975 to 1993 it was a pulmonary diseases clinic with an X-ray laboratory.

Here also grows a Ginkgo biloba, listed as Polish Natural Monuments.