Façade decoration at 83 Szeroka St.

Technique: sgraffito

Object:

One of the historicist façades covering a block of flats built as part of the post-war reconstruction of Gdańsk. In 2014, the façade underwent a major refurbishment under the ‘Gdańskie Fasady OdNowa’ project, which aimed to improve the quality of public spaces in Główne Miasto by adding architectural decoration to existing buildings that were omitted during Gdańsk’s reconstruction.

The biaxial central and western façades received decoration in the form of a large-scale sgraffito in yellow and red, which depicts coins falling from the gable end of the façade. Their iconography makes important references to the historical history of Gdańsk. These include a Teutonic shilling, a siege penny from 1577 and a Danzig ducat.

Place:

The building is located in an area designated as a heritage site. It forms part of the historic urban layout of Gdańsk. Szeroka Street was destroyed in 1945 during World War II. Most of the tenement houses were rebuilt without respecting the historical layout. Historic remnants can only be seen in the distinction of the separate façades with gables and in the ridge layout perpendicular to the street. The height and width of the buildings were standardised, and consequently, the historic parcelling was not maintained. Retail and service units were located in the ground floor. Szeroka Street acts as a boundary between the historicising reconstruction and modern development: a place where the two ways of post-war reconstruction intertwine.

Information about the author:

Jacek Zdybel graduated from the State Higher School of Visual Arts (now the Academy of Fine Arts) in Gdańsk. He earned his MA from Professor Hugo Lasecki’s studio. He currently runs the Studio of Mural Painting and Stained Glass at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk . Zdybel is the co-founder of the educational and artistic project Gdańsk School of Mural. He has taken part in many solo and group exhibitions.

Condition of the object: good

Owner/guardian: Residential community at 82/83 Szeroka St.

Author of the entry: Noemi Etush