Villa Hugo Hecht in Bydgoszcz

The Villa Hugo Hecht is an historical house in downtown Bydgoszcz, registered on the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Heritage List.

Villa Hugo Hecht in Bydgoszcz
Polish: Willa Hugona Hechta w Bydgoszczy
View from Gdanska street
Location within Poland
General information
Type	Villa
Architectural style	French Neo-Renaissance
Classification	N°601315-Reg.A/137, 19 March 2004[1]
Location	Gdanska street 88-90, Bydgoszcz, Poland
Country	Poland
Coordinates	53°8′01″N 18°0′42″E
Construction started	1888
Completed	1889
Client	Hugo Hecht
Technical details
Floor count	2
Design and construction
Architect	Józef Święcicki

Location

The house has two buildings (at N°88 and N°90). It is on the eastern side of Gdańska Street, between Zamoyskiego street and Chodkiewcza street.

It stands close to remarkable tenements in the same street:

• Villa Carl Grosse at N°84;
• Otto Riedl Tenement at N°85;
• Tenement at Gdanska street 91;
• Hugo Hecht tenement at N°92-94.

History

Both houses have been built in the years 1888-1889. They were part of a project of six close stylish buildings ordered by the merchant and dealer in timber Hugo Felix Franz Hecht.[2] He assigned Bydgoszcz architect Józef Święcicki to realize his scheme.

The owner of the buildings between 1900 and 1939 was an activist and social worker in Bydgoszcz, physician Hermann Dietz.[3][4] He had made in 1900 an residential wing added to the building, according to a design of the initial project manager, Joseph Święcicki. At this time, the address of the villa was Danziger Straße 123-124.

Architecture

The two juxtaposed buildings, covered with mansard roofs, seemingly create a uniform shape. However, the architect, through the use of different decorative motifs on each of the buildings, subtly contrasted them. Both villas represent a style modeled on the French Neo-Renaissance.[5]

This is reflected in the choice of details and in the structure of the edifice with a characteristic avant-corps, topped with a decorative gable, breaking the facade symmetry. Frontage is decorated with diverse architectural details.[5] Cast iron decorative elements have remained to this day, such as the barrier railing that runs along the roof of both buildings, pushing further the architectural unity of the edifice.

The building has been put on the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Heritage List N°601315 Reg.A/137, on March 19, 2004.[1]

Gallery

• 
  Villa Hugo Hecht ca 1900
• 
  Facade of N°90
• 
  Facade of N°88
• 
  Detail of a relief
• 
  Window detail

See also

• Gdanska Street in Bydgoszcz
• Józef Święcicki

References

1. zabytek-kujawsko-pomorskie issued 28.02.2014
2. Adressbuch nebst allgemeinem Geschäfts-Anzeiger von Bromberg und dessen Vororten auf das Jahr 1889: auf Grund amtlicher und privater Unterlagen. Bromberg: Dittmann. 1889.
3. Adressbuch nebst allgemeinem Geschäfts-Anzeiger von Bromberg und dessen Vororten auf das Jahr 1900: auf Grund amtlicher und privater Unterlagen. Bromberg: Dittmann. 1900. p. 93.
4. Kunach, Bogusław (13 November 2013). "To był po prostu przyzwoity człowiek". bydgoszcz.wyborcza.pl. bydgoszcz.wyborcza. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
5. Bręczewska-Kulesza Daria, Derkowska-Kostkowska Bogna, Wysocka A (2003). Ulica Gdańska. Przewodnik historyczny. Bydgoszcz: Wojewódzki Ośrodek Kultury w Bydgoszczy. ISBN 8386970103.

Bibliography

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