Chair

One of the most characteristic buildings in Szczecin's city centre, built at the turn of the 19th and 20th century stands to this day at Aleja Piastów 12 (formerly known as Barnimstrasse – it was built as a Municipal Middle School, according to the design by Wilhelm Friedrich Adolf Meyer-Schwartau, who was also responsible for the most famous representative buildings of the city. The building was constructed in the years 1900-1903 using Silesian sandstone brought to the city for this exact purpose, and stood out thanks to its exceptionally rich and diversified decor. In September 1945, the first secondary school in Polish Szczecin was established in the building by Janina Szczerska (born on 22 October 1897 in Stryj, died on 10 July 1981 in Szczecin) – a Polish language teacher who, having returned from German concentration camp, settled near her new facility on the second floor of a townhouse at Barnima 66. Like many other settlers, she took over her new apartment together with its furnishings: kitchen appliances, dishes and furniture. Among them was this carved Neo-Renaissance chair with a tall back rest . In 1976 Janina Szczerska decided that after her death, the furniture should be donated to the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin.

Anna Lew-Machniak