Mix Ernst tenement in Bydgoszcz

The house Ernst Mix in Bydgoszcz is located at N°10 of Gdańska Street in Bydgoszcz.

Building Ernst Mix
Polish: Kamienica Ernsta Mixa
Tenement Ernst Mix from Gdanska Street
General information
Type	Tenement
Architectural style	Modern architecture
Location	Bydgoszcz, Poland
Address	Gdanska Street 10
Coordinates	53°7′30″N 18°0′11″E
Groundbreaking	1863
Completed	1905
Renovated	1913-1914
Technical details
Floor count	5
Design and construction
Architect	Fritz Weidner

Location

The building stands on the eastern side of Gdańska Street, between Drukarnia shopping mall and Parkowa street.

History

Origins

The building was erected in 1863 for Ernst Mix, a soap manufacturer, as a complex of two buildings.[1]

In 1905, the building was expanded to the south with a residential annex in the Art Nouveau style, richly decorated with animal figures by architect Fritz Weidner,[1] a German builder who came to Bydgoszcz at the end of the 19th century. Weidner building activity in the city was focused between 1896 and 1914. From 1912 onwards, he lived in the house he built for himself at Gdańska 34.

In the same area, Fritz Weidner built houses at the following addresses:

• Thomas Frankowski Tenement at Gdanska Street 28 in 1897;
• George Sikorski Tenement at Gdańska Street 31, in 1906;
• Max Rosental Tenement at Gdanska Street 42 in 1905;
• Ernst Bartsch tenement at Gdańska Street 79, in 1898;
• Tenement at Plac Wolności (Freedom Square) 3, in 1903.

From 1863 until World War II, Ernst Mix's company operated a soap and candle factory in this facility. The address then was "Danziger strasse 42".

In 1910, the owner adapted the building for commercial purposes.[2] The two lower floors were then used as a Department Store called Modehaus Bromberg.[2] A reconstruction took place between 1913-1914 under the supervision of Fritz Weidner.[3]

Advertisement for Mix Ernst products - 1869

"Kristal" Theatre

The final design of the front facade and the unification of the two houses was carried out after 1905 with the construction of the cinema theater "Kristal". "Krystal-Palast" started its performances in 1914,[4] with a 750-seat capacity. The cinema facility operated until 2003, regularly changing name:[5]

• Kristal in 1920;
• Cristal in the 1930s;
• Ufa Westpreussen during World War II;
• Pomorzanin between 1945 and 2003.

The theater could to host 478 people, 286 located up in a long gallery.[1] Film screenings began on April 1, 1914. The entire facility, funded with loans from the Stadthagen Bank, was praised by companies Mixa, Tucholski, and Weidner.

Other outlets

During interwar period, a pub, Bar Angielski, was set up near the cinema where one could dance to the beat of live performances by Jazzband Orlowski. Another restaurant was also housed there at the same time, Zagloba, owned by M. Grabowski.

In 1921, the Poznański Bank Ziemian installed offices on Gdanska Street, and in 1944 the German Cashier of Bydgoszcz District (German: Sparkasse des Kreis Bromberg) was located in the building. In 1946, ground and first floor premises were allocated to the State Agricultural Bank (Polish: Państwowy Bank Rolny): renovation works were then supervised by architect Jan Kossowski. In 1948, the building was renovated.[2]

In the postwar period the old factory premises housed the International Press and Books Club, and, since 1994, a club, Mózg.[1]

At the beginning of 2017, the ensemble has been purchased by company Moderator Inwestycje, which planned to re-open there a theatre, with a scene.[6]

Architecture

The building was rebuilt in the style of early historical modernism by Fritz Weidner.[1] The two lower floors keep large windows that were once part of a department store. The facade, originally adorned with art Nouveau solar motifs stuccoes, has lost most of them with following reconstructions (especially in 1948).[2]

During the theater construction, reinforced concrete, a pioneering technology at the time, was used. Facades have been standardized and given the modern architecture style.

Gallery

• 
  Advertisement for restaurant Zagloba, 1928
• 
  South facade
• 
  Corner
• 
  Frontage from Gdańska street
• 
  Detail of facade
• 
  Detail of facade
• 
  Detail of facade
• 
  By night
• 
  Interiors in 2017

See also

• Bydgoszcz
• Gdanska Street in Bydgoszcz
• Fritz Weidner
• (in Polish) Club Mózg

References

1. Bręczewska-Kulesza Daria, Derkowska-Kostkowska Bogna, Wysocka A (2003). Ulica Gdańska. Przewodnik historyczny. Bydgoszcz: Wojewódzki Ośrodek Kultury w Bydgoszczy. ISBN 8386970103.
2. Puzowska, Iwona (1990). Bydgoskie domy towarowe z początku XX w. Kronika Bydgoska X (1986-1988). Bydgoszcz: Towarzystwo Miłośników Miasta Bydgoszczy.
3. l (3 April 2013). "Te kamienice Fritza Weidnera stoją do dziś". bydgoszcz.wyborcza.pl. bydgoszcz.wyborcza. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
4. Guzek, Mariusz (2001). Filmowa Bydgoszcz 1896-1939. Toruń: Dom Wydawniczy „Duet”. ISBN 83-89706-27-X.
5. Bukolt, Alojzy (1993). Siedem etapów w dziejach bydgoskich kin. Kalendarz Bydgoski 1993. Bydgoszcz: Towarzystwo Miłośników Miasta Bydgoszczy. p. 95.
6. Pluta, Joanna (12 March 2017). "Bydgoski Pomorzanin odzyska dawny blask? Nowy właściciel planuje remont". bydgoszcz.naszemiasto.pl. bydgoszcz.naszemiasto. Retrieved 7 May 2017.

Bibliography

• (in Polish) Bręczewska-Kulesza Daria, Derkowska-Kostkowska Bogna, Wysocka A. : Ulica Gdańska. Przewodnik historyczny, Bydgoszcz 2003

External links

• Club Mózg

Panorama on Ernst Mix Tenement from Gdanska street