Hay Market in Szczecin

After the end of the First World War, Szczecin found itself in a difficult economic situation, so vedutists strove to show views of the sublime city, remembering better times. Compositions created to comfort the heart referred to historic buildings in an idealised way, with architectural details more clearly depicting the beauty of exemplary works of Germanic ancestors. On the other hand, the actual post-war situation was also portrayed, with prosaic scenes from everyday life coming to the fore. The ideal place for such observations was the Sienny Market (Heumarkt) in the Old Town, frequented by the people of Szczecin because of its commodity-trade character. It was there that the Old Town Hall was located, the seat of the city authorities from the 15th century until the 1870s when it was decided to build a new, so-called Red Town Hall at today's Stefan Batory Square. The interiors of the Old Town Hall were then adapted for private flats, and a restaurant was opened in the historic cellar. In the thirties of the nineteenth century, the classicist Stock Exchange building was erected in its neighbourhood, referring to the architecture of Karl Schinkel (1781-1841), who was associated with Szczecin. The view of the Stock Exchange and the Town Hall was a popular motif in art, used among others by Oswald Polte (1887-1927) in work from around 1925. The artist was a Silesian-born painter, graphic artist and designer, who spent his adult life in Szczecin. From 1912, he worked as a teacher of painting and weaving. His teaching achievements culminated in 1925 when he was appointed professor of the Municipal School of Craftsmen and Handicrafts in Szczecin. He was a co-founder of the Association of Pomeranian Artists and the North German Secession group. His large-scale artistic activity was interrupted by his premature death in 1927.

Małgorzata Peszko