The whole 19th and early 20th century went down in the city’s history with many interesting architectural works. The buildings created at those times exemplify co-operation between the city’s institutions and residents who often sponsored the investments. The large group of architects active in Bolesławiec at those times included two clearly distinguished individuals: E. Gansel - builder of the viaduct and of the spire at today’s St Mary’s Unceasing Support church; and Friedrich Schiller - creator of the Neurological and Psychiatric Hospital building. On the other hand, one of the most beautiful examples of British-style architecture is Willowa St and the surroundings, influenced by a major authority in that period’s architecture - Hermann Muthesius.

Engelhardt Gansel /1806 - 1876/

The young Engelhardt, upon graduation from the school in Bolesławiec, learned the trade from the local architect, Leitner, in the years 1822-1824. During his journeys to Austria, Switzerland and Belgium, he kept extending his knowledge of building and architecture. He was also educated in Hamburg and Berlin, and then - as one of the best students - he was sent to study in England. In 1830 Gansel started his activities in Bolesławiec. The first success was winning the competition for designing the spire of the former protestant church, (today - St. Mary’s Unceasing Support). Another very important work by E. Gansel was supervising the construction of the viaduct in Bolesławiec. Residential buildings of his design can be seen at Komuny Paryskiej St and Zgorzelecka St. Those that were not preserved to modern times include the prison at Chopina St and a large residential house, known as Haaseburg, owned by C. Augusta Haase and erected at the present Sierpnia 80 St in 1846. In total, Gansel’s heritage comprises 11 churches and 10 castles, and the complete reference list of buildings exceeds 400. He was one of the richest citizens of Bolesławiec and played a serious role in the town’s political life - as a city councillor, a deputy to Provinziallandtag of Bolesławiec and Żagań, the leader of the Town Council - to name just the most important functions. He was also a busy alchemist and a co-founder of the Bolesławiec chapter of freemasonry - “Under the Golden Chain”.

The Viaduct (18)

The railway viaduct stretching over the Bober valley has been counted among the town’s biggest attractions from its very conception. Construction works, supervised by E. Gansel, took from 1844 till 1846. The viaduct is a monumental building: with a height of 26 m, length of 490 m, and width of 8 m. Of the 35 arches in total, the widest 7 stretch straight over the river - each 15 metres long. The 20 arches in the middle reach 11.3 m, and the 8 side arches have 5.65 m each. The pillars are equally huge - the main eight, known as Towers, are 3.75 metres thick each, while the smaller ones range from 3.15 to 2.5 metres. A total of 33,400 square metres of material was used for the construction. More than 600 workers were employed, and for a period of time they had to work both day and night. The weight of lime used was 14,500 tons, and 400 tons of cement was used. The very construction of scaffolding took 100 workers and used 12,000 tree logs, each 15-25 metres long, costing 60,000 thalers The total cost reached the exorbitant sum of 400,000 thalers. The building was highly appreciated and the government of Prussia awarded the architect with the Order of the Red Eagle in 1847. Today, the viaduct is seen not only as an outstanding technical and historical monument, but also as a valuable work of art. The entire shape reflects a clear inspiration with Roman aqueducts, but a set of decorative forms also refers to Gansel’s favourite architecture of the Gothic period.

The house at 19 Zgorzelecka St (19)

In the thirties or forties of the 19th century, Engelhardt Gansel built himself a house at 19 Zgorzelecka St in the so-called Italian villa style, characteristic for Berlin architecture of the period. Until the World War 2 the house was owned by builders and architects of the Gansel family . The cellar housed an alchemist’s laboratory, which was related to Gansel’s membership in freemasonry - he co-founded the Bolesławiec lodge called “Under the Gold Chain” in 1849. Later on, Gansel’s sons fitted the place up as a “miniature museum” and a small café. Art collections of the Gansels included, among others, two precious sculptures by Weber, interesting architectural details, bas-reliefs, a collection of coins /the latter was hidden during World War 2 and re-discovered by accident during repair works in 1987/.

The church of St Mary’s Unceasing Support (20)

The church, serving as a protestant sanctuary until the last war, was built at the place of the former castle - the seat of the royal governor. In early 17th century, the castle was bought out by the city and served as a protestant house of prayer for a time. After the big fire and destruction by the Swedish army in 1642, it remained in ruins for more than 100 years. When the former castle area was given to the protestant parish, a new sanctuary was built in the years 1752-56. It was based on a rectangular plan, with a single-space interior with empores, and very modest decoration. The decision to add a spire was made in the early 30-ies of the 19th century. Within two years /1834-35/ a neo-gothic spire was erected, as designed by E. Gansel. That was the first major work of the young architect of Bolesławiec, bringing him popular recognition and fame. The church spire was not only liked by the citizens, but also appreciated by Prussian authorities that entered it to the list of the best building works in the country.

The buildings at 6 Komuny Paryskiej St - the present General and Vocational School (21)

The two buildings in the neo-gothic style, constructed by E. Gansel in 1844, were bought out by the city 5 years later and converted into the local court. In 1931, when the court took over the building at Sądowa St, adaptation works were started to prepared the building for the needs of the vocational school moved from the remains of the Dominican monastery.

The house at 14 Komuny Paryskiej St (22)

The neo-gothic building, preserved in its original shape, bears an inscription that is still visible today: “1849, Erbaut von Mauermeister E. Gansel” /built by the master mason E.Gansel in 1849/.

Hermann Muthesius /1861-1927/

A well-known architect, one of the leading figures of modernism, was at his time among the biggest authorities in his craft. After returning from England in 1904, he published a three-volume work on an English house. The work instigated a real revolution in German architecture: traditions of historicism were abandoned and the modernist movement appeared. The book recommended that architects give up the repertoire of historical forms, and - based on English examples - propagated a free plan, aiming to maximum functionality in interior planning, in order to increase general comfort. An important factor was the connection of the house’s interior with the surrounding garden, based on mutual infiltration. The house was mainly to serve as a cosy and safe shelter, while representation functions were secondary.

Willowa, Leśna, Obrońców Westerplatte streets - implementation of H. Muthesius’s ideas (23)

The buildings at today’s streets of Willowa, Leśna and Obrońców Westerplatte marked the first stage in implementation of the large-scale planning competition (1910) aimed to extend the southern part of the city. The picturesque, comfortable houses built in that area alluded to English solutions promoted by Muthesius, who was a member of the jury. The houses in Bolesławiec reflected the very ideas he worked hard to propagate. Most of them were quite spectacular, with diversified architectural shapes, often made even more multi-faceted by the use of numerous bow windows and roof windows, loggias, galleries and balconies. Roofs were mainly multi-sloped, with large roof surfaces, often with sophisticated, broken ridge shapes. Gables were faced with timber framing, sometimes with just a simple timber-covered wall. Facades were generally deprived of historical ornaments, but decorated with numerous divided-light windows and shutters in a variety of forms.

The former freemasonry lodge - now kindergarten at 17 M. Brody St [Przedszkole nr 2] (24)

The building of the masonry lodge was among the most important ones constructed in 2dn half of 19th century in the southern part of the town. The freemasonry lodge of Bolesławiec - "Under the Golden Chain" - was founded in 1849 by 15 members, who originated from the economic and cultural elite of the city. The number of freemasons grew in the following years, which brought a necessity of erecting a new, representative building for the meetings. The imposing edifice at M. Brody St, designed by E. Hotop, was built by C. Till in 1885. The lodge is an excellent example of the northern renaissance style, with the contrastive composition of surfaces - the red brick façade and the rich architectural detail carved in light stone. The building was originally capped with a balcony rail and covered with a flat roof. The present ridged roof was added in a reconstruction, most probably in the 1930s. In March 1933, activities of masonry lodges was declared illegal in Germany. After liquidation of the Bolesławiec lodge, the building was claimed by a Nazi youth organisation.

The house at 5 Grunwaldzka St - the present Youth Culture Club [Młodzieżowy Dom Kultury] (25)

The house was built for Müller, the founder and editor of „Pharmazeutische Zeitung” (“Pharmaceutical Times”) - an acclaimed professional periodical started in 1854. The house had lavish architectural forms of renaissance-classicism, and the trees in the surrounding garden are among the most interesting ones in Bolesławiec.

Former Gymnasium - now the District Court at Sądowa St (26)

One of the most interesting neo-gothic buildings in Bolesławiec, was designed by a Goerlitz architect Oppermann and built in the years 1861-64. The building, whose tower is the fourth highest in the town, is a dominant accent in the town’s panorama. The three-storey edifice of 11 axes on a near-rectangular plan is decorated by two side risalits capped with crenellation, and a tower situated on the axis of symmetry, ornamented with galleries, crenellation and the tower clock. Builders took care to make all classes spacious, light and well equipped. Appropriate rooms were provided for the physics laboratory, the library, a natural history collection and astronomical observatory. The highlight of the building, attractive in the scale of the entire town, was and still is the beautiful main hall (aula). The two-storey high room occupies the western wing. The rich interior design of the hall included busts of prominent men of culture and science, of both the Antique and modern German times. That special kind of pantheon comprised: the western side: the eastern side: Ptolemy - Copernicus Socrates - Schiller Sophocles - Kant Homer - Goethe Vitruvius - Winckelmann /not preserved/

The Theatre at Teatralna St (27)

The building, erected in the years 1822-23 and planned as the city’s arsenal, was converted to be a theatre by R. Schiller in 1857. However, citizens of Bolesławiec complained about the conditions inside - mainly about the penetrating cold. In winter it was even indispensable for the audience to carry hot-water bottles to spectacles. After another reconstruction, implemented by W. Dörich and supervised by R. Schiller in 1885-86, the building received neo-renaissance forms with recurrent motifs of semi-circularly shaped windows, pilasters and the pediment with acroterions, crowning the new façade. In 1913 the stage section was broadened, including the space for the orchestra, as designed by Ernst Balzer. The building hosted a theatre troupe.

The former Fernbach house at 6a Mickiewicza St (28)

The tenement house belonged to the Fernbach family, a famous clan of publishers and printers. The well known activities were started by Louis Fernbach in 1864. His „Dziennik Bolesławiecki” (Bolesławiec Daily), with its modern looks and political impartiality, was able to successfully compete with each major local daily. The family and the printing press were both headquartered at the building in what is now Mickiewicza St, constructed in 1883. The two-storey house of balanced, harmonious design attracted attention of its contemporaries with a set of renaissance and classicist forms, and particularly with the spectacular Column Hall.

Richard Gustav Schiller /1823- 1903/

A disciple of the great architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, educated in the famous Building Academy of Berlin. In 1857 he arrived to Bolesławiec, where he supervised numerous building investments. His design set the basis for the building of the Psychiatric and Neurological Hospital, and for reconstruction of the local theatre. Since 1870 Schiller was the official county architect, and since 1880 held the post of the Royal County Building Inspector. A year later he was awarded the title of the Royal Building Councillor. Year 1870 also marked an important work - Schiller designed a house for E. Krischke, a big landowner. The house, built at today’s 37 Komuny Paryskiej St, started development of the elegant southern housing district, known as the “West-End”, covering the area of the following streets: Komuny Paryskiej, Wybickiego, Miarki, Brody, Opitza, Drzymały. In later years, Schiller designed more buildings in that area (including 36 Komuny Paryskiej st). He was also active as an architect in Złotoryja and Nowogrodziec.

The Lunatic Ward of the Silesian Province /today - the Voivodship Neurological and Psychiatric Hospital/ (29)

Created in the period of 1857-63 in the neo-gothic style, it was designed by R. Schiller. The size of the entire complex, the modern nature of the technical solutions applied and the extensive park and garden area allowed to regard the hospital to investments on a truly European level, from the very start. After modernisation and extension in 1909-13, the number of patients grew three-fold /up to 1,150 people/, and next to the new hospital buildings a church was built, as well as two orangeries, a mortuary, a dissection room and many support buildings. Apart from the park and the garden, the complex included the nearby forest, with a small hospital cemetery.