Królowej Jadwigi Street, Bydgoszcz

Królowej Jadwigi Street is a street located in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Many of its buildings are either registered on Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship heritage list, or part of Bydgoszcz local history.

Location
The street is located in the western part of Bydgoszcz downtown district. It runs along a south–north axis, connecting Focha Street in the south to Dworcowa Street in the north. It crosses the Brda river via the Queen Jadwiga bridge (Most Królowej Jadwigi). The street is about 750 m long.

History
The area was part of a former suburb called Okole that covered artificial islands from Brda river forks nearby Bydgoszcz Canal. In the first half of the nineteenth century, this area remained almost undeveloped. The situation changed in the second half of the 19th century, when industrial plants and residential complexes, following industrial revolution in Prussia, were established. Królowej Jadwigi Street was then laid out in 1860 together with the development of Bydgoszcz thanks, in particular, to the rapid grow of the railway traffic. The thoroughfare connected then the train station area to the Bydgoszcz Canal.

The street was first mentioned on maps of Bromberg from 1857 and 1876, under the name Victoria Straße, in reference to Empress Victoria, wife of German Emperor Frederick III. At the time, it did not extend to Focha Street to the south, but stopped at Albert Straße (today Garbary Street). The southern branch to Focha street was only realized after the second World War. By and large, most of the buildings have been erected in 25 years, from 1878 to 1903.

During street's inception, a bridge (Victoria Bridge Viktoriabrücke), was built between 1861 and 1865. When the Vistula Oder waterway was renovated at the beginning of the 20th century, the old Viktoriabrücke was re-constructed in 1913. It changed name to Królowej Jadwigi Bridge (Most Królowej Jadwigi) in 1920.

Naming
Through history, the street bore the following names:


 * 19th century to 1920, Victoria Straße;
 * 1920 to 1939, Ulica Królowej Jadwigi;
 * 1939–1945, Victoria Straße;
 * Since 1945, Ulica Królowej Jadwigi.

Current street name refers to Queen Jadwiga of Poland (1373–4 - 1399), who reigned as the first female monarch of the Kingdom of Poland from 1384 until her death in 1399.

Main places and buildings
Tenement at 1, corner with Garbary Street

1890s

Eclecticism

Initially at Albertstraße 12, then Viktoria Straße 8, the tenement had been owned since 1878 by Gustav Modrakowski, a butcher, living at Feldstraße 7 (today's Jackowskiego street).

The corner building displays eclectic features on both facades. On the ground floor, bossage and round top windows topped by young female mascarons. On Królowej Jadwigi Street, the main portal is flanked by columns. The first floor boasts pedimented openings, with balustrade. On the corner, a bay window stretches through two levels, supported by ornamented brackets. On the right end of Królowej Jadwigi Street's facade, a slight avant-corps is underlined by two tall Corinthian order columns.