From the airport straight to the Old Market

Monday, 17 May 2010 09:44

Tourists, especially foreign ones, most often begin their visit to Bydgoszcz at the Ignacy Paderewski Airport [1]. The journey from the airport to the city centre takes just 15 minutes and even people who do not know the city should not have any difficulties to find their way. By bus No. 80 we will get directly to Jagiellonów roundabout, where we shall start our walk round the city.

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Going west along Jagiellońska St. we are heading towards the very centre of Bydgoszcz. We go past the grand edifice of the Voivodeship Office, which was built in the years 1834-1836 [2].

The building was designed in the studio of one of the most eminent architects of the period of neoclassicism – Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Just a few yards further there is a building designed by the world famous JSK Architekten studio- Drukarnia Gallery [3], that initiates the city’s longest shopping tract – Gdańska Street [4]. Tourists might pay special attention to the building’s glass façade, behind which we can see the remains of a former printing house. It reminds us of the rich industrial traditions of Bydgoszcz.

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The first longer stop could be planned in the vicinity of the church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary [5]. In this spot we can start the route Round the city centre or continue on towards the Old Market. While in this part of town it is worthwhile to take a closer look at the other side of Jagiellońska St.: splendid and carefully restored buildings, which serve as a bank headquarters [6] and the impressive brick building of the Main Post Office [7], from the end of the 19th century. The latter one makes a particularly good impression when seen from the side of the River bank. At Teatralny Square [8] there is something very special for enthusiast of history: two glass plates [9] with descriptions of buildings that did not survived to our times: a theatre from the end of 19th century and the brick church of St. Mary from the second half of the 16th century. While walking towards Jerzy Sulima – Kamiński Bridge, from which we can admire a view of the Bydgoszcz waterfront, we go past a number of magnificent tenement houses.

Bydgoszcz – city on water

The two banks of the Brda River are joined by a sculpture of ”A man crossing the river” that is suspended on a wire stretching between the two embankments. The sculpture enjoys constant popularity among tourists and visitors of the city [10].

This work of art that denies the laws of physics shows the figure of a tightrope walker holding in one hand a pole and arrows in the other. The sculpture was unveiled on the 1st of May 2004 to commemorate Poland’s accession to the European Union.

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From the bridge there is a splendid view of the most important symbols of the city - three 18th c. granaries of traditional half-timbered construction [11]. The beauty of these buildings, that nowadays houses a museum, is highlighted by the shape of the modern BRE Bank that perfectly blends into the surroundings [12].

These glass granaries designed by Andrzej Bulanda and Włodzimierz Mucha symbolize the rapidly developing city, but are also one of the icons of contemporary Polish architecture. While strolling along the boulevards by the river it is worthwhile paying special attention to the charming red brick building erected in the style of Dutch Mannerism that is situated in the Fish Market (Rybi Rynek). The palace-like edifice was constructed at the end of the 19th century for a shipping entrepreneur - Otto Liedke. Later the facility was rebuilt as an office for Bydgoszcz Lloyd (inland navigation company)[13].