Stettin | Szczecin

Economic development in the second half of the 19th century affected the wealth of the European bourgeoisie, which began to travel exuberantly. This boom in tourism was followed by a demand for various geographical atlases and travel albums about specific countries and geographical regions. One of these was the Pommern Hand-Atlas, which included a black-and-white steel engraving of Szczecin from the turn of the 20th century. In their work, the unknown author depicted a section of the city viewed from the gardens in the grounds of Szczecin's famous Zu Drei Zirkeln (Under the Three Compasses) Masonic Lodge. Its members bought the land on today's ul. Swarożyca, where they built their headquarters with extensive gardens and a public viewing terrace. The site soon became one of the favourite recreational spots for the people of Szczecin at the time. It offered a view of the northern part of Szczecin, with the buildings of the Dolny Wik (vicus inferior) in the foreground and the outline of the Ducal Castle and St. James's Church in the background. The panorama of the city viewed from here also included the Oder River with impressive sailing ships, smoking steamers and the Kłodny Bridge in the distance. The stretch of Szczecin depicted in the intaglio was featured in many earlier prints. An identical representation can be found, for example, in a work by Wilhelm Loeillot (ca. 1827-1876) from 1875, which is now in the collection of the Pomeranian State Museum in Greifswald. The German draughtsman and engraver was in turn inspired by the work of Julius Gottheil (1810-1868), a painter and landscape drawer, who was artistically active mainly in Gdańsk and Hamburg. Małgorzata Peszko