Tom`s travels: Szczecin (31/08/2019)

After flying to Berlin to see Ania, we decided to take a day trip and visit the Polish city of Szczecin. In just two hours we arrived by train from Berlin main station in Szczecin's main station. After exiting the station we headed towards the city center which was just a few minutes to the north. We then reached the Cathedral, the city's largest church and the largest in Pomerania. Built during the 14th century as a Romanesque building on the model of St Mary's church in Lubeck. It was later rebuilt after the Scanian war at the end of the 17th century in the Baroque style and later again after world war 2, it was rebuilt to serve then the catholic population as the territory was now under Poland and not Germany anymore. The interior, as could be expected, was quite empty, but featured some nice gothic altars taken from elsewhere. Not far from there we then passed through the pretty Plac Orla Bialego, the white eagle square, one of the city's main ones. At its center stands a nice fountain representing an eagle and dating to the 18th century, and which has in fact given the name to the square around it. Walking further on we then reached the Ducal Castle, once the seat of the dukes of Pomerania which ruled from 1121 to 1637. The castle itself started out as a fortified settlement and later transform, rebuilt, and expanded. During the 16th century, the castle was rebuilt in the mannerist style for Duke John Frederick by Italian stonemasons. Later it suffered some modifications throughout the centuries particularly during the Prussian rule which introduced some Rococo and Neoclassical refurbishments. During WWII, like many other buildings in town, it was greatly damaged and then restored when the city came under Polish hands. In order to restore its Slavic past and erase the German influence, the castle was rebuilt in its previous Mannerist style which is how it can be seen today. As most of the interior is modern, containing even a cinema, we did not enter the building itself but rather explored the central courtyard which featured the nice renaissance arcades all around its perimeter and a colored clock tower with the city's coat of arms, which are also those of the house of Griffin who ruled the city. After exiting the castle's grounds, we passed by the Brama Krolewska, or royal gate, one of the two remaining gates of six that once dotted the city built during the Prussian period in the 18th century. The gate was really nice but unfortunately surrounded by road crossings which made it hard to admire and making it stand by itself without any kind of continuation with the surrounding architecture. Right by the city gate is a large square with the statue of an angel commemorating the victims of the protests of December 1970 against the government of the time. Next to it stands the ultra-modern building of the Szczecin Philarmonic, built in 2014 in a glass ice-like structure. From there we continued on and reached the main building of the city's national museum, an art nouveau building dating to 1908 which is part of a larger complex of buildings dating to the same period. It was there in the fact that during Prussian rule, the city's authorities decided to build the Hakenterrasse, today known as Waly Chobrego, an observation deck right above the Oder river's bank with modern imposing buildings. The intent was good however nowadays, I believe its function and impact have lost their original intent as there are now cars passing right below between the deck and the river and there is not much going on, apart from maybe once in a while a concert or event taking place on the grounds. After enjoying the view we headed into the museum and visited the various exhibitions inside, including the African section, the bronze age sculptures, and some modern paintings. After the visit to the museum, we walked back to the city center and visited another branch of the national museum, located in the Palace of the Pomeranian States Parliament. The interior featured objects from the time the city was part of the Duchy of Pomerania. After visiting that building too we then headed on to reach the city's old town square, the Rynek Sienny. Its southern side is surrounded by nice renaissance and baroque buildings reconstructed after the war, while to the east is the old gothic town hall. We headed inside to visit one other branch of the national museum, this one detailing the city's history. On the top floor, we even enjoyed a view of the old town. After that we strolled around the square, enjoying the sun, and then decided it was time to head back to the station to catch our train headed to Berlin.