Post Office No. 2 in Szczecin

The building of Post Office No. 2 at Dworcowa 20 in Nowe Miasto is a complex of red-brick buildings, built in stages in 1872-1905. The Wikipedia entry calls it the oldest surviving example of 19th-century postal architecture. It still houses a post office today.

Red brick and German Neo-Renaissance

The building was erected in the German Neo-Renaissance style, to a design by Carl Schwatlo. In the upper parts of the facade can be seen tympana topped with horse heads, and eagles on the window lintels. In the hall of the first of the buildings stands a ceiling supported on columns, with a glass roof above it.

Extensions

The complex was built in several stages. The heritage register dates the main construction to 1872-1875, and extensions were carried out from 1877 until the time of the First World War. The authors of the alterations included August Endell and Hucke. After the Second World War the building housed a post office, a radio inspectorate, a telecommunications laboratory and the Technical School of Communications. In 1994-1995 the building underwent conservation and a thorough renovation.

The complex is entered in the heritage register. It is a working building, so it is viewed mainly from outside, and the hall can be glimpsed while taking care of postal business.

Practical information

• Address: ulica Dworcowa 20, Nowe Miasto.
• The office's opening hours are given by Poczta Polska; check them before your visit.
• Nearby stands the Red Town Hall.
• A few hundred metres away is the Archcathedral Basilica of St James the Apostle.