Fanciful view of Szczecin

In 1720, Szczecin came under Prussian rule. The new authorities decided to carry out a general reconstruction of the city, destroyed by military operations. Especially the area of Roβmarkt (Horse Market) was severely affected. Under Prussian rule, many new Baroque townhouses and magnificent edifices intended to house the authorities, offices and the homes of high-ranking officials and the wealthiest townsfolk were erected. In the 18th century, this place became the most important square in the city. The first fountain emphasised Szczecin's beauty; it was built in the baroque sandstone style - the pride of the inhabitants, a symbol of the excellent qualities of the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I (1688-1740) and the rebirth of the city under his rule. The fountain, launched in 1732, was at the same time part of Szczecin's first water supply system. The representative appearance of the square and its role in the life of Szczecin made artists eager to immortalise it in their drawings. It was also depicted around 1800 by André Basset (18th/19th), a famous Parisian engraver, antiquarian and publisher, who created genre scenes on historical subjects. However, his engravings printed as mass prints did not always show the actual appearance of the places depicted. His view of the Roβmarkt is a fanciful depiction of the square, a mixture of information about the Szczecin Horse Market, the castle, the river and the city fortifications. Basset did not even include the characteristic eagle fountain, drawing an imaginary reservoir instead. On the upper margin of the copperplate, he placed an inscription in a mirror image, informing that the illustration could have been used in the so-called magic lantern - a simple and popular projection apparatus, equipped with a lens and a light source, working on the principle of a mirror image in relation to the pattern (the same as the information VUE D' OPTIQUE printed below, meaning optical view in French).

Małgorzata Peszko