The Building of the Former Townsfolk School
On leaving the District Court building we direct ourselves to the left, we cross Górny Rynek and a fragment of Wyższa Brama Street to reach, having turned right, Plac Wolności (The Square of Freedom). At its end, on the left hand side, there is The Building of the Former Townsfolk School 7 Plac Wolności
The neo-renaissance building of today’s Primary School 4 and Mikołaj Kopernik Secondary School was erected in 1879 by the authorities of Cieszyn for the purpose of creating a town common school for boys and girls (Städtische Volksschule). In 1875 The Town Council invited tenders for a competition for a project of a new school and committed The Austrian Association of Engineers and Architects in Vienna (Oesterreichisches Ingenieur – und Architekten Verein) to adjudicate it. The competition met with a wide response among the architects all over the monarchy. 56 projects came in and as early as in March, 1876, the jury adjudicated the competition under the chairmanship of Henryk von Ferstel, the creator of the Votive Church and the University building in Vienna. The winning design came from the Viennese architectural workshop of Ferdinand Fellner and Hödl. The building process, carried out by a town builder Alojzy Jedeck, started in April 1877 and was completed two years later. An empty plot at the corner of Heir Rudolph Square and Empress Elisabeth street (today’s Plac Wolności and ul. Pawła Stalmacha) was chosen for the building site.
The building has the shape of a closed quadrangle, 50 m by 42 m with an inner yard. A regular mass received an outer neo-renaissance decoration. The harmony of the composition is enhanced by the fact that the storeys are equal in height and the windows are placed rhythmically and divided by means of pilasters and entablature. The main façade has been emphasized by the central entrance door and symmetrical lateral projections. Some of the elegant rooms of the school, e.g. the entrance halls and the school assembly hall also received neo-renaissance interior decorations. The formal opening of the school took place on September 13th 1879 in the presence of Karol von Stremayer, the Minister dealing with Denominations and Education, who came here from Vienna especially for this occasion. It was then that a commemorative plaque, made of white marble, with an inscription in German, was unveiled. It is still there today, in the hall of the secondary school. The inscription reads: ‘Der Bau dieser Volksschule wurde unter der Regierung Sr. Majestät des Kaisers Franz Josef I. von der Stadtgemeinde Teschen nach dem preisgekrönten Entwurfe der Wiener Architekten Fellner und Hödl am 12. April 1877 begonnen und am 31. Juli 1879 vollendet. Die Eröffnung des Unterrichtes in diesem Volksschulgebäude erfolgte am 15. September 1879. Die göttliche Vorsehung walte über demselben. Ausgeführt wurde dieser Bau unter Leitung der Stadtingenieure Carl Khünl vom 1. Mai 1877 bis 15 Jänner 1879 und Architekt Carl Stadler von Wolffersgrün vom 16. Jänner 1879 bis 31. Juli 1879 durch den Stadt Baumeister Alois Jedeck.’ (‘The building of this Common School was launched on April 12th, 1877, during the reign of His Highness Franz Joseph I by the town parish of Cieszyn. It was built according to a design (that was awarded in a competition) by the Viennese architects, Fellner and Hödl. On November 30th 1879 the building was finished and classes in the building of this Common School started on September 15th, 1879. May Divine Providence protect this school. The process of building was conducted by a town builder, Alojzy Jedeck, under the supervision of the town engineers; Karol Khünl from May 1st 1877 to January 15th 1879 and Carl Stadler von Wolffersgrün from January 16th 1879 to July 31st 1879’).
After the opening ceremony the modern school building won the admiration of the contemporary and was the pride of the town fathers. It became a frequent place of visit for the guests of rank staying in Cieszyn. A year after the school was opened, on October 18th, 1880, the Emperor Franz Joseph I himself crossed its threshold. He admired this building that was still new – a building that fulfilled the most modern requirements of the times for educational institutions. After the teachers had been introduced, the Emperor ordered the pupils to go to their classrooms where he listened, contentedly, to their being examined in German, Polish and Czech. To celebrate the event, he planted ‘The Emperor’s Oak’ in front of the school, a tree of impressive size today. Also other members of the Habsburg family manifested their interest in the school. On October 25th 1882 the Cieszyn Duke Albert visited it, and on September 27th 1885 – the Archduke Friedrich. The school building distinguished itself in the history of Cieszyn Silesia. During the memorable events of 1918 in the square in front of the school, on the night of October 31st, Polish officers, under the command of lieutenant Klemens Matusiak, arrested the Austrian commander of the Cieszyn garrison, colonel J. Gerndt. They went to the offices of the garrison command in the school building where Gerndt resigned and handed his functions over to the Poles. To commemorate the event Rudolph Square was later called The Square of Freedom (Plac Wolności) and in 1988, i.e. on the 70th anniversary of the events, The Monument of Independence was unveiled in front of the school.
Photographs: Dominik Dubiel, Paweł Halama, Daniel Hryciuk, Magdalena Jańczuk, Renata Karpińska, Mariusz Makowski, Joanna Rzepka-Dziedzic, Anna Szostok-Fedrizzi, Henryk Tesarczyk
Translation from Polish: Lucyna Krzanowska and John Whitewood
Reproductions of exhibits, documents and photographs from the collections of:
- Museum of Cieszyn Silesia in Cieszyn,
- Cieszyn Historical Library,
- Cieszyn Branch of the State Archive in Katowice,
- Cieszyn Town Council,
- Museum of Beskidy in Frýdek-Mistek,
- private collection of Mariusz Makowski
- H. Wawreczka, J. Spyra, M. Makowski, ‘Cieszyn i Czeski Cieszyn na starych widokówkach i fotografiach’, WART, Nebory 1999