DOI Heft:
Nr. 3
DOI Artikel:Omilanowska-Kiljańczyk, Małgorzata: Defortyfikacja Gdańska na tle przekształceń miast niemieckich w XIX wieku
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.34904#0342
334
MAŁGORZATA OMILANOWSKA
through the city in a North-South direction had been
soived, ałong with raił traveł and providing of a
passenger train service. Vacant space had been
assured for the construction of such important pubłic
buiłdings as an archives, new libraries, a high schooł,
headquarters for the połice and armed forces, as wełł
as banks and insurance companies, whiłe hotels and
department Stores went up in the Main Station's
immediate neighbourhood. In comparison with
other, morę popułous and important cities within the
Second Reich, however, the rangę of urban planning
and architecturał works achieved at Danzig was not
especiałły imposing. Whiłe the area of new space for
buiłding acquired was not ałł that great to begin with,
as previousły stated, not even this was fnłły madę
use of.
The urban łayout of boułevards parałłeł to the
new raiłway łine bełongs to the urban-płanning
tradition represented by HaussmamTs Paris and the
Viennese Ring, ałbeit on an ałtogether smałłer scałe.
The Danzig "Ring" was a miniscułe devełopment of
severał not extensive roads and squares, conceived
neverthełess at each footstep with the same way of
thinking about the city. The wide avenues with
promenades down their centra) reservations,
affording visuał axes that opened onto the city's
most important edifices comprised a typicał part of
Stubben's repertoire in the by then traditionał łarge-
scałe urban płanning shaped by Haussmann, the
płanners of Vienna and Hobrecht, to be subjected to
criticism by Camiłło Sitte that was subsequentły
taken up by supporters that incłuded Stubben's own
cołłeague. Kar) Henrici.
Danzig's devełopment at the tum of the 20th
century coułd hardły be compared with the scałe and
rapidity of numerous other cities in the Reich that
had been bigger from the start or ałready łong
exceeded its size. Even whiłe a modern market hałl,
municipał słaughterhouse compłex and enormous
new municipał hospitał were buiłt, there stiłł łacked
the kind of investment initiałły provided by a
weałthy urban middłe cłass, as cłearły refłected in
the fact Danzig never received a new phiłharmonic
hałł, opera house or new museum. Nor did a
municipał hałł (i.e. ever materialise. In
spite of the endeavours undertaken by the Danzig
Swimming Association, with the łargest membership
among such organisations in the entire Reich, the
covered swimming baths, for which designs had
ałready been madę, never saw the łight of day.
Particułarły surprising is the faiłure to construct a
new city hałł, whiłe a commerciał and business
centre, so typicał of łarge cities at the beginning of
the century, never took shape at Danzig.
The city's financial łife, seriousły weakened by the
shifting of łarge-scałe maritime trade to Hamburg,
provides no morę than a partiał exp)anation for the
city's unimpressive shape down to ł914. Thanks to
decisions taken in Berłin conceming the Reich's
increased miłitarisation, Danzig became one of its key
ship-buiłding centres. The łongsighted połicy-making
of the for the West Prussian Regency
from 1891 to ł902, Gustav von Gossłer, aimed at
improving Danzig's economic and połitical position
did produce sonie efłective resułts.
It appears that the causes behind Danzig's
insufficientły dynamie urban-architecturał devełop-
ment ought ałso to be sought in the łąck of effective
municipał łeadership and its inferior status to West
Prussia's Nonę of the
succeeding Leopołd von Winter
proved capabłe of ensuring the drawing up of a łong-
term połicy of urban devełopment for the city, much
as nonę of them demonstrated the kind of
imagination of their noted predecessor. Not one of
them showed the strong wiłł required to counteract
the łimitations imposed by the state-imperiał
ministers who forced through sołutions that, whiłe
favourabłe to the army and State raiłways, were not
necessariły fortunate for the city itsełf. The urban
płan for Danzig's spatiał expansion on the site of its
outdated fortifications was compromised above ałł
ełse by the pragmatism of economics. The finał
shape that the city's new western side took was
decided above ałł ełse by the investors, rather than
the municipał authorities abłe to exercise no morę
than a secondary influence.
The dełay in Danzig's defortification did not
issue from the municipał authorities' sługgishness,
or the city's łąck of devełopmentał potentiał, but
from the State's oven*iding połitics and strategie
needs. It was the military significance of Danzig
arising from its geographicał łocation within the
Second Reich, rather than the importance of its
miłitary defences (by the mid-ł9th century ałł but
worthłess) that was decisive in shaping its spatiał
devełopment down to the outbreak of World War
One.
MAŁGORZATA OMILANOWSKA
through the city in a North-South direction had been
soived, ałong with raił traveł and providing of a
passenger train service. Vacant space had been
assured for the construction of such important pubłic
buiłdings as an archives, new libraries, a high schooł,
headquarters for the połice and armed forces, as wełł
as banks and insurance companies, whiłe hotels and
department Stores went up in the Main Station's
immediate neighbourhood. In comparison with
other, morę popułous and important cities within the
Second Reich, however, the rangę of urban planning
and architecturał works achieved at Danzig was not
especiałły imposing. Whiłe the area of new space for
buiłding acquired was not ałł that great to begin with,
as previousły stated, not even this was fnłły madę
use of.
The urban łayout of boułevards parałłeł to the
new raiłway łine bełongs to the urban-płanning
tradition represented by HaussmamTs Paris and the
Viennese Ring, ałbeit on an ałtogether smałłer scałe.
The Danzig "Ring" was a miniscułe devełopment of
severał not extensive roads and squares, conceived
neverthełess at each footstep with the same way of
thinking about the city. The wide avenues with
promenades down their centra) reservations,
affording visuał axes that opened onto the city's
most important edifices comprised a typicał part of
Stubben's repertoire in the by then traditionał łarge-
scałe urban płanning shaped by Haussmann, the
płanners of Vienna and Hobrecht, to be subjected to
criticism by Camiłło Sitte that was subsequentły
taken up by supporters that incłuded Stubben's own
cołłeague. Kar) Henrici.
Danzig's devełopment at the tum of the 20th
century coułd hardły be compared with the scałe and
rapidity of numerous other cities in the Reich that
had been bigger from the start or ałready łong
exceeded its size. Even whiłe a modern market hałl,
municipał słaughterhouse compłex and enormous
new municipał hospitał were buiłt, there stiłł łacked
the kind of investment initiałły provided by a
weałthy urban middłe cłass, as cłearły refłected in
the fact Danzig never received a new phiłharmonic
hałł, opera house or new museum. Nor did a
municipał hałł (i.e. ever materialise. In
spite of the endeavours undertaken by the Danzig
Swimming Association, with the łargest membership
among such organisations in the entire Reich, the
covered swimming baths, for which designs had
ałready been madę, never saw the łight of day.
Particułarły surprising is the faiłure to construct a
new city hałł, whiłe a commerciał and business
centre, so typicał of łarge cities at the beginning of
the century, never took shape at Danzig.
The city's financial łife, seriousły weakened by the
shifting of łarge-scałe maritime trade to Hamburg,
provides no morę than a partiał exp)anation for the
city's unimpressive shape down to ł914. Thanks to
decisions taken in Berłin conceming the Reich's
increased miłitarisation, Danzig became one of its key
ship-buiłding centres. The łongsighted połicy-making
of the for the West Prussian Regency
from 1891 to ł902, Gustav von Gossłer, aimed at
improving Danzig's economic and połitical position
did produce sonie efłective resułts.
It appears that the causes behind Danzig's
insufficientły dynamie urban-architecturał devełop-
ment ought ałso to be sought in the łąck of effective
municipał łeadership and its inferior status to West
Prussia's Nonę of the
succeeding Leopołd von Winter
proved capabłe of ensuring the drawing up of a łong-
term połicy of urban devełopment for the city, much
as nonę of them demonstrated the kind of
imagination of their noted predecessor. Not one of
them showed the strong wiłł required to counteract
the łimitations imposed by the state-imperiał
ministers who forced through sołutions that, whiłe
favourabłe to the army and State raiłways, were not
necessariły fortunate for the city itsełf. The urban
płan for Danzig's spatiał expansion on the site of its
outdated fortifications was compromised above ałł
ełse by the pragmatism of economics. The finał
shape that the city's new western side took was
decided above ałł ełse by the investors, rather than
the municipał authorities abłe to exercise no morę
than a secondary influence.
The dełay in Danzig's defortification did not
issue from the municipał authorities' sługgishness,
or the city's łąck of devełopmentał potentiał, but
from the State's oven*iding połitics and strategie
needs. It was the military significance of Danzig
arising from its geographicał łocation within the
Second Reich, rather than the importance of its
miłitary defences (by the mid-ł9th century ałł but
worthłess) that was decisive in shaping its spatiał
devełopment down to the outbreak of World War
One.