Main Building of the National Museum in Szczecin

The Main Building of the National Museum stands on the Chrobry Embankment (Wały Chrobrego) and is one of the six sites of the National Museum in Szczecin. Below is about the building itself, its history and architecture. The collections and what is on offer are presented under the National Museum in Szczecin.

Construction and an unfinished plan

The decision to develop the Chrobry Embankment, then called the Hakenterrasse, was taken in 1901. The building was erected in 1908-1911 to a design by Wilhelm Meyer-Schwartau, and the heritage register dates the whole to 1908-1913. It originally housed the Municipal Museum, officially opened on 23 June 1913, with art collections.

The building was never completed. The opening of the first part, roughly half of the scheme, in 1913 was at the same time the end of the investment, because the First World War broke out a year later. The original design envisaged a four-wing building with a tract on the axis and two inner courtyards. These plans were never returned to.

Architecture

The building was constructed on an E-shaped plan, and its style refers to modernism and Art Nouveau. Between the arcades of the portico of the main façade, on the Oder side, are reliefs with four buildings symbolising the epochs of culture: the Pyramid of Cheops, the Parthenon, Cologne Cathedral and St Peter's Basilica. On the south wall are female figures symbolising painting, graphic art and sculpture. The height of the building with the dome is 54 m, and the exhibition area is 5563 m².

Fortunes after 1944

In 1944 the roof storey was damaged during air raids. In March 1945 the most valuable exhibits were taken to Coburg Castle. In June 1948 the Maritime Museum was opened here, incorporated two years later into the National Museum. Since 1976 the Contemporary Theatre has been operating on the upper floor of the building.

The tower and the surroundings

From the tower, which is open to tourists, there is a view of Szczecin and its surroundings, especially of the Międzyodrze (the Oder floodplain). The building stands on the Chrobry Embankment.

At a distance of about half a kilometre is the Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes.

Practical information

• Address: Wały Chrobrego 3, Szczecin.
• Visiting hours, tickets and the availability of the tower are given on the museum's website. Check them before your visit.