STUBBEN - INSPIRATION FROM VIENNA AND THE PROCESS

OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE POSEN IN XIXc.

IMPERIAL DISTRICT
Until the end of the 19th century Poznan was a fortification sur-
rounded with a belt of massive defensive structures which hindered
the spatial expansion of the city. After the Prussian fortifications were
dismantled in 1902 an elegant layout was developed by Josef Stubben,
one of the most remarkable European urban designers, which skillful-
ly combined green areas and newly constructed public edifices repre-
senting various styles. Since these were being erected in the proximi-
ty of a castle which at the time was also under construction here, the
whole area became known as the imperial district.

After the deconstruction of the polygonal part of the Stronghold

Poznań, Poznań was transformed to a residential city (Haupt- und Resi-
denzstadt). On the new lands, Prussian authorities - who acquired the
city in the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 - decided to build a new
Germanic urban core. Stübben marked out a stylish street which was
to circle the city centre of Poznan - at present Independence Avenue
(Aleje Niepodległości) and Queen Jadwiga Avenue (Królowej Jadwigi).
Making a reference to Vienna and Krakow, this street along with the
parks and green squares adjacent, was to serve as a promenade. In
the place of the former Tietzen Fort, situated between the no longer
existing Royal Gate and Berlin Gate, a large public park was planted
(today - Mickiewicz Park), surrounded by magnificent buildings. Monu-
mental buildings of the Imperial Districts surrounding the castle and
Map of fortified Poznan 1871.
park included:

-Post Office building

-headquarters of the Prussian Settlement Commission (now Collegium

Maius)

-Royal Academy (Königliche Akademie in Posen) (today Aula of the-

-Adam Mickiewicz University, Collegium Minus and the Collegium Iu-

ridicum)

-City Theatre (today the opera house)

-Academy of Music (Akademia Muzyczna w Poznaniu)

-Evangelical-Augsburg Church of St. Paul (today Roman Catholic

-Church of the Holiest Savior)

-Monument to Otto von Bismarck

Stübben borrowed the actual idea to situate the official buildings near
the ring from Vienna. However, the Viennese developments aimed to Josef Stübben, areas along ramparts (northern and southern section) showing the Imperial Forum
preserve the Habsburg Kulturträger (bringer of culture) myth, where-
as the Imperial District was a manifestation of the new Hebungspoli-
tik, a pro Germanic policy for the eastern provinces of the Prussian
state. The premises of the new town planning concept for Poznań
made a reference to earlier plans for other German cities, for example
the Ring and the New Town in Köln. They also displayed some analo-
gies to solutions approved, for instance, for Metz and Strasbourg, as
well as other Polish towns situated within the Austrian partition, for
example the plan for Krakow of 1910.

View of the Imperial district in Poznan

Map of Poznan 1909. after dismantlement of the fortifications

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE
SEMESTER 4 2017/18
DINO JOZIC AND NEDZLA SEFEROVIC