A distinguished builder of Sopot will be commemorated in the center of the resort. The city has settled the competition for the design of a monument to Paul Puchmüller, a city architect who had a decisive influence on shaping the development and urban planning of Sopot. The appearance of the monument is not the only change that will take place in the neighborhood of City Hall.
Theinitiator of the monument is the community of Sopot architects, the idea was applauded by city councilors. Paul Puchmüller (1875-1942) was a distinguished city architect who designed, among other things, the Sopot City Hall, the Northern Baths and the Southern Baths, a school for girls (today it is the block of the Second High School), or the complex of the Third Spa House (together with Karl Weber and Adolf Bielefeldt).
The monument will stand in front of the City Hall, the architect worked there for 20 years
The idea of restoring the memory of the city's most important architect, who had a decisive influence on shaping the development and urban planning of Sopot, was born in 2021 on the occasion of the celebration of the 120th anniversary of the granting of municipal rights to Sopot. At that time, the Sopot City Council passed a resolution to erect a monument commemorating Paul Puchmüller in front of the City Hall building, where the architect worked for 20 years , says Marek Nizołek of the Sopot City Hall.
Six works were submitted for the competition, and the jury decided to award two prizes and one honorable mention. The first prize (PLN 25 thousand) went to the Maciej Jagodzinski-Jagenmeer Sculpture Studio, known for its realizations such as the sculpture of Nicolaus Copernicus in Grudziądz and the monument to Tadeusz Wenda in Gdynia. The second prize (PLN 15,000) went to the team composed of: Jacek Kicinski, Maciej Jacaszek and Piotr Woszczalski, while the honorable mention went to Milosz Prajsnar, Aleksandra Wiater and Krzesimir Wiater.
Second prize (PLN 15 thousand): Team composed of Jacek Kiciński, Maciej Jacaszek and Piotr Woszczalski
Photo: Anna Rezulak KFP/UMS
The subject of the competition was not only the design of the monument, which will stand in front of the City Hall in Sopot, but also the concept of developing the surrounding area. When will the implementation take place?
The monument in the city space will appear after the renovation of the City Hall , announces Marek Nizołek.
had a major impact on the appearance of the resort
Paul Puchmüller was born in Slupsk on September 8, 1875. From April 1849 he studied at the Faculty of Architecture of the Royal Technical College in Berlin. In 1901 he took the position of builder of the Sopot municipality. A year later, after Sopot was granted city rights, he was given the title of city architect (Stadtbaumeister).
Honorable mention: team composed of Miłosz Prajsnar, Aleksandra Wiater and Krzesimir Wiater
Photo: Anna Rezulak KFP/UMS
Puchmüller's responsibilities were wide-ranging. His tasks included: heading the magistrate's building department, creating or co-designing municipal building projects, and cooperating with the city surveyor in determining the street network. Until 1909, he carried out and supervised the tasks of the building police, set architectural guidelines and building lines and ensured that they were followed. He was a proponent of villa and detached housing, thanks to which, despite development, the intimate character of the resort was preserved.
The subject of the competition was not only the design of the monument, which will stand in front of the Sopot City Hall, but also the concept of developing the surrounding area
© Maciej Jagodzinski-Jagenmeer Sculpture Studio | press mat.
