The stall holder in the relief at the main entrance is just beautiful now.
The renovated stall holder relief
The renovation team is just about to start work at the front elevation in ul Piaskowa, the scaffolding being in place for several days. This part of the work involves cleaning brickwork, cleaning and restoring sandstone components around the gate, windows and Wroclaw's coat of arms. New windows are to be installed. Their original counterparts were made of Australian oak and fitted with colourful and slightly convex panes. Unfortunately, it was too costly to restore their original shape. The new windows will retain its former sliding structure, which means you can open them easily. The granite panelling at the base of the wall is also set for renovation.
Reinforced concrete structure The Market Hall in ul Piaskowa was built between 1905 and 1908 to replace the 16th-century Sand Arsenal. The latter's design is reflected in the hall's two towers, which are best to be seen from ul Świętego Ducha. The building was designed by Richard Plüddemann and Heinrich Küster. Plüddemann, who was City Construction Officer at the time, several Wroclaw landmarks, including the Zwierzyniecki Bridge, and the building which now serves as the University Library in ul Szajnochy and the Architecture Faculty building. Küster is in turn believed to have come up with the idea to use reinforced concrete to construct the Hall, which was something new for the buildings of this size at the time. The building survived WWII almost intact. Initially, the hall served as the Red Army stables, but it was later used suitably to its purpose. At the beginning of the 1980s, the hall, which wa managed by PSS SPołem at the time, underwent thorough renovation.
These days, its two storeys house over 190 different stalls. It attracts regular shoppers from the Old Town area as well as university lecturers and the clergy from Ostrów Tumski. It also serves a number of popular Wroclaw restaurants. The Market Hall is often visited by tourists, between 30 and 35 guided tours every calling every day.. New restaurant and tea shop The building in ul Piaskowa is four storeys high, and features the main hall with the stalls and the gallery as well as two massive basement areas. Some sections of the latter are used for chopping meat while other serve as a storage space. The 220-sqm basement under the clock tower, which is accessed from ul Piaskowa, is set to house a new restaurant, which opens in September. Apart from this, the ground floor, which is accessible from the riverfront, is set to house a tea shop.
The basement is set to house a restaurant
The hall's interior is also earmarked for renovation, and some sections of the sewage and electric systems as well as one of the three lifts have already been replaced. Another historic lift with wooden runners is earmarked for renovation. The overall cost of the whole project runs into several thousand PLN. Part of the funding was provided by Professor Rudolf Lenz, a German historian and philologist. For years now, the retired Marburg University lecturer has been lobbying a number of German public institutions to subsidise restoration projects both in Wroclaw and elsewhere in Lower Silesia, e.g. the library in Wyspa Piasek and the chain library in Oleśnica Castle. The subsequent stages in the renovation process are soon to follow: the renovation of the remaining parts of the elevation and the work to replace the floors, windows and a substantial part of the roof.
Photograph: Janusz Krzeszowski
