Chalcographic plate

The construction of the brick ducal seat, on Trzygława hill, today known as Castle Hill, was started in the 14th century by Duke Barnim III (c.1303-1368) from the Pomeranian Griffin dynasty. The castle was rebuilt many times and destroyed by fires and warfare, most severely in the final phase of World War II. After the First World War, Szczecin's old buildings, in disrepair or being rebuilt, began to arouse the interest of artists not only because of their history. It was a kind of patriotic duty to commemorate the remains of the illustrious House of Griffins, which had ruled the area for centuries. One of the views of the castle, often immortalised in iconography, was the one of the main courtyards with the Clock Tower, called like that because of the impressive size and technique of the clock placed on it, which was built in 1693 to commemorate the victory of the Swedes over Brandenburg in the battles for control over Pomerania (1674-1679). It was made by Caspar Nitardy from Drawsko Pomorskie. In the 17th century, the clock with a figure of a man moving his eyes in accordance with the movement of a large hand, with a date and current date indicator, a sphere with moon phases and a clown striking hours and quarters of an hour was a real curiosity. Only small fragments of the original decoration of the clock face have survived to this day. Apart from the tower with the clock, the plate shows the crown of a tree in bloom and the silhouette of St James' Church. The same view was represented by a photograph taken by H. Krause, which probably served as a model for the plate. That fragment of the castle became the object of interest, among others, of an unknown artist, who made a copperplate with an etched engraving, used for subsequent prints on paper. The plate, made between 1920 and 1940, is in the collection of the National Museum in Szczecin, together with the original print on cardboard.

Małgorzata Peszko