Defence of the Polish Post Office

Technique: wall painting

Dimensions: –

Object: Defence of the Polish Post Office was designed by Marcin Budziński and created together with the residents of Przymorze and Lechia Gdańsk fans. It was commissioned by the “Lwy Północy” (Lions of the North) Association of Lechia Gdańsk Supporters. The mural was painted on the western wall of the block of flats at 24 Chłopska Street in Przymorze. The location on Chłopska Street, the main artery of the Przymorze Wielkie district, increases its visibility. The mural commemorates the defence of the Polish Post Office in 1939. As the artist himself says: “the large-format painting is a patriotic gesture intended to commemorate the 70^th anniversary of the end of World War II”. The mural is modelled on a postage stamp from 1958, issued to mark the 19^th anniversary of the Defence of the Polish Post Office. The artist transformed it into a large-format work, introducing some significant changes. In the foreground, there is a silhouette of the postal worker Sylwester Płoszyński, who took part in the heroic defence of the building. He is portrayed in half-figure in profile, looking straight ahead and holding a rifle in his left hand. In the background behind the postman, there is the post office building. Along the northern edge of the wall is an inscription reading “Defence of the Polish Post Office”. In the original work, i.e. the stamp, the inscription read: “Defence of the Gdańsk Post Office”. In the lower corner of this part of the wall there is a postmark, and in its upper part, the address of the building. In the upper corner of the southern edge of the wall the artist painted a bullet mark, which was not present in the original. The mural was created using a technique employed in the creation of postage stamps. The artist used a raster and engraving similar to the copper engraving technique. The painting was created in 10 days, although it took the artist almost a year to prepare the entire project.

Place: The mural was painted on the wall of a five-storey block of flats on Chłopska Street, built according to a design by Janusz Mork. It is located in the area of Wielkie Przymorze, which is situated on the eastern side of Chłopska Street and forms part of a larger development, the Przymorze Wielkie estate. The estate was built between 1963 and 1986 as a result of a competition announced in 1959 by the Association of Polish Architects (SARP) and the Society of Polish Town Planners (TUP) for the architectural and urban development of the Oliwa – Przymorze Wielkie estate. The authors of the winning concept, implemented following the necessary corrections, were Tadeusz Różański and Józef Chmiel (the latter did not take part in the actual implementation). When creating the design, Różański and Chmiel cooperated with Tadeusz Zwolak and Marian Kossakowski. The team led by Tadeusz Różański was joined by architects Danuta Olędzka, author of the Falowiec (wave) residential blocks, and Janusz Morek, author of the low-rise residential blocks, street furniture and landscaping. The design envisaged dividing the housing estate into four smaller units A, B, C, D by marking out three green belts running perpendicularly to the seashore. Long gallery-access blocks of flats were built along each of these lines, their zigzag shapes reminiscent of sea waves. Each of the smaller housing estates had a different surface area and urban layout, subordinated to the changing rhythm of the large Falowiec blocks and the grouping of lower blocks. The building at 24 Chłopska Street is located in Unit B.

Information about the author: Marcin Budziński (b. in Gdańsk) is a visual and graphic artist and designer. He studied at the Faculty of Graphic Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, graduating from Prof. Sławomir Witkowski’s studio. He has taken part in numerous exhibitions and competitions, including the Polish Poster Biennale, the International Poster Biennale in Wilanów and the Festival of Advertising Posters. He was nominated for the Student Graphic Design of the Year award in Gdańsk and came third in the same competition in Kraków. Budziński works in advertising, specializing in designing printed materials and creating graphic signs. He is the author of various murals in cities around Poland. In Gdańsk, his works may be seen on the walls of buildings at 90 Piastowska Street, 16, 3 Maja Street and at the intersection of Biała and Wajdeloty streets. He also designs advertising murals.

Condition of the object: no remarks

Owner/guardian: Przymorze Wielkie Housing Cooperative

Author of the entry: Dorota Kucharczyk