Kopernika Street, Bydgoszcz

The Copernicum building appears on the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Heritage List, Nr.601363, Reg.A/784 (5 May 1992)[8] It was constructed between 1903 and 1906 by Carl Zaar and Rudolf Vahl.[9] The building is designed in the Art Nouveau (Secession) style.

The Copernicum building has had several occupants and owners. These include a Prussian realschule; a Copernicus High School for mathematics and natural sciences (1923); and a military hospital during the German occupation (1939 – 1945). Since 2005, the owner has been the Kazimierz Wielki University (after Casimir III the Great (1330 – 1370)).

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  Copernicus building from Kopernika street
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  Copernicus building back yard
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  Copernicus building main entrance
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  Copernicus building by night

Kopernika Square is a green area landscaped in 1973. Its statuary includes a metal sculpture of a female figure by Maria Chudoba-Wiśniewska, a mid-20th century sculptor of Poznań. The sculpture weighs 864 kg and is 4,57m tall. The sculpture was erected during the National Open Air Sculpture Festival (Ogólnopolski Plener Rzeźbiarski) which took place from August to September 1973. Round shaped stones can be found on the grass, positioned on ellipse rings surrounding the statue: they represent the planets of the Solar System in orbit, including the Sun and the Moon.[10]

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  Statue in Kopernika Square
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  Ellipse rings with round stones on Kopernika Square
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  Kopernika Square in summer

In 1932, the house on the corner of Asnyka Street and Kopernika Street was designed, built and occupied by the architect Bogdan Raczkowski (1888 – 1939) in 1932.[5] It is designed in the Functionalist style. In 1921, Rackowski became a member of the Bydgoszcz municipal council. In December 1922, he became a member of the City Development Committee. In 1934, Raczkowski retired. His wife Maria, his daughter Danuta and he were arrested and shot on 4 October 1939 in the forest north of Bydgoszcz (Polish: Las Gdański). His brother Tadeusz was murdered later the same month in the Valley of Death.[11]

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  1 Asnyka Street, Kopernika building to the left
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  1 Asnyka Street, facade
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  Elevation from Kopernika Street

3 Kopernika Street on the corner with Asnyka Street was constructed between 1933 and 1935. It was designed by Paweł Wawrzon in the Functionalist style.[5] The large villa has a massive avant-corps which carries a balcony. On both street elevations there are ample shed dormers overhanging the gable. The entrance has a delicate transom light, topped by an oeil-de-boeuf and a springline window.

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  3 Kopernika Street
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  3 Kopernika Street, façade
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  3 Kopernika Street, entrance

The large house at 5 – 7 Kopernika Street was built between 1914 and 1916 by Rudolf Kern.[5] It was designed in the early modernist style. The house was built for the Secretary of the Bydgoszcz Regency, Ernest Werner. Later, another floor was added. The house had a family area on the ground floor with five bedrooms above and servants' quarters in the basement.[6]

The house has two avant-corps. One is on the main elevation topped by a balcony. The other one is on the side. It is curved with thin and tall openings. At the gable, a large dormer is situated between two kernel and eyelid dormers. The entrance has a semi-circular transom light, and two pilasters, one on either side.

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  5 Kopernika Street
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  5 Kopernika Street, façade and entrance

The villa at 7a was built between 1933 and 1935. It was designed by Bolesław Polakiewicz.[5] in the functionalist style. Polakiewicz designed 9 buildings Kopernika Street and Ossoliński Alley. The villa demonstrates cubic or rectangular forms, enhanced by curves and openings.

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  7a Kopernika Street
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  7a Kopernika Street, facade
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  7a Kopernika Street and 9 Kopernika Street at the corner with Ossoliński Alley

9 Kopernika Street was built between 1932 and 1933. It was another design by Bolesław Polakiewicz in the functionalist style.[5] The villa is near the corner with Ossoliński Alley.

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  9 Kopernika Street
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  9 Kopernika Street from Ossoliński Alley
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  16 Kopernika Street (left), 9 Kopernika Street (centre) and 7a Kopernika Street (right)

10 Kopernika Street was built on the corner of Szenwalda Street between 1930 and 1931. It was designed by Stanisław Mankowski in a Polish national style with elements of functionalism.[5] The house became a local branch of the Deutsche Bank. In 2005, the building underwent renovation. The main architectural elements of the building are the entrances on both streets, the avant-corps and the gables.

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  10 Kopernika Street
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  10 Kopernika Street, entrance to Szenwalda Street
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  10 Kopernika Street, weather vane
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  10 Kopernika Street, entrance

12 Kopernika Street was built between 1932 and 1936. It was designed in the functionalist style by engineer A. Knauff from Warsaw[5]

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  12 Kopernika Street

14 Kopernika Street was built in 1934 in the functionalist style.[5] The house has its original vertical glass opening overhanging the entrance which allows light to enter each floor.

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  14 Kopernika Street
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  14 Kopernika Street, original vertical glass opening.

The villa was built in 1933 in an early modernist style. It was listed on the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship heritage list as number 601364, registration A/61/1-2, 20 January 2002.[12]

The villa was commissioned by Antoni Weynerowski, the owner of a successful shoe factory, LEO. The shoe factory became KOBRA. The house was a wedding gift to his son, Witold and his wife Julia née Kessler. She was from the Netherlands, the daughter of a rich merchant and so the roof was designed in the Dutch style of de l'Orme.[13] The villa was surrounded by beautiful gardens. After World War II, the villa became the property of the city and became a kindergarten for the children of members of the police force.[13]

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  16 Kopernika Street
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  16 Kopernika Street from the garden
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  16 Kopernika Street, facade
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  de l'Orme gable roof
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  16 Kopernika street, gable of the garage building (right)