SUBJECTS of INTEREST
BILL EASTER
poland in the 90’s
Whilst working as course leader and part-time lecturer at the Visual Communication department of the Academy of Art & Design in Den Bosch it was customary for us to organise an annual study trip for the students. On two occasions I was lucky enough to be one of the participating lecturers on trips to Poland, once in 1990 to Poznan and Skoki, and again in 1996 to Gdansk.
poznan & skoki 1990
And so it was, that in October 1990, a little less than a year after the dramatic fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, I found myself en route for Poland together with students and teaching colleagues. We traveled through the night by coach and, after a long wait at the 'other' Frankfurt on the River Oder, the (former East) German-Polish border, where our papers were very thoroughly checked, we eventually arrived in Poznan. After a short visit there, together with a group of students and colleagues from the Poznan Academy, we went on to an impressive annexe at a place called Skoki just to the north of the city. The building was a former country house that had been gifted to the academy long before and that they used as a (summer) retreat and for special projects such as the visit of a group of Dutch students.
In between teaching and other activities I was able to get out and about to explore Skoki, which, as far as I can recall, was a quiet farming community with not very much going on. I was struck by how simple life seemed to be there and wondered how this might change for folk in the following years. I wandered to the outskirts of the town where there was an old farm and a rather desolate block of flats with simple allotments at the back and, beyond them, a main road with a view across to a large lake. We also made the occasional trip back into Poznan and one visit I recall in particular was to a lovely, wooded cemetery that was not too far away from the student refectory. I was surprised to see, not only here but also in many buildings in Poznan, bullet holes in the masonry that I presume had been there since WW2, bitter reminders of the terrible conflict on Polish soil. Thanks to the marvels of StreetView in some cases I have been able to track down a few of the places I came across then to compare them with the way they are now.
The wonderful country house owned by the Poznan Academy of Art at Skoki (photo not by me). In the middle on the main floor there was a large hall where we held a party practically every evening during our stay. Wandering about in the grounds one day I found this splendid lead ornament.
A delightful small notice board behind glass, perhaps at the local Post Office, about a local angling competition. I was never quite sure if the sign at right was the name of a business or a piece of local graffiti….
At left my shot from 1990 of what I think was the local farmer’s co-operative located on Jana Pawla II. At right the scene from StreetView (it is now a builders merchant). Note that the street lights, cables and chimney have all changed or dsappeared.
When I photographed the signal box in 1990 Skoki seemed to be a fairly important stop on the line from Poznan with some extra sidings. In 2020 StreetView the signal box has gone as have the sidings.
As luck would have it a train came through whilst I was standing at the crossing in 1990. Notice that the farmhouse is still there, perhaps with a new roof in the meantime, as is the concrete post at lower right.
Two shots that I have tried exhaustively to trace, unfortunately without success. On the left a small general store, I think in Skoki and typical of many in Poland. At right a wonderful stencilled sign for a ladies hairdresser, possibly in Poznan.
I was fascinated by the exotic car marques that I came across: at left a Wartburg and an FSO Syrena 105 and some Polski Fiats. The very solid looking Zabytkowa Warszawa 204 at right looks as if it could withstand the worst of Polish winters.
On the outskirts of the town there was a new development of flats with allotments at the back. To my surprise I was able to get to almost the same spot via StreetView
A woman takes out the rubbish with the allotments in the background. At right a magnificent group of self-built sheds nearby.
In 1990 the subway under the main road was decorated with graffiti (?) Note the local footpath running alongside which comes from the allotments above and continues under the road to a smaller road with the vast lake beyond.
What a change here! The wonderful openness of fields near ‘our' country house in 1990 with a classic short-cut path leading to the house and factory in the distance. Now replaced by a complete new housing development.
The Zasłużonych Wielkopolan cemetery with remembrance candles
in 1990 has not changed so much in 2020...
sopot, gdansk, gdynia 1996
A few years later, in 1996, we visited the port city of Gdansk. We stayed at Sopot, formerly a chic holiday resort on the coast just outside the city. Our accommodation was at the wonderfully named Hotel Chemik which had been constructed by the communist regime for holidaying workers in the chemical industry. Despite the intervening years, the facilities were still rather spartan by Western standards but we compensated for this by visiting the more chic, upmarket hotels nearby for the occasional drink. Again, between teaching work, I took the opportunity to have a look around the city, I managed to climb the bell tower of the massive St Mary's Basilica where I was rewarded with impressive views of the surrounding city. We also took a boat trip from Sopot to Gdynia via the unhappily named Hel located on a nearby peninsula. In Gdynia I was able to wander around and take a few shots of the buildings around the port area and was again struck by how basic life still was for many Poles at that time. Since joining the EU however, things have clearly improved and both Sopot and Gdansk have been substantially developed and modernised to better reflect their former (pre communist) glory. Perhaps a mixed blessing as they have now become very popular tourist spots, along with all the slightly garish attendant trimmings; quite a contrast with my memories of 25 years earlier.
I found this shot on Google Maps taken from the renamed Hotel Sopocki Zdrój.
The view is similar to my 1996 shot. The distinctive entrance to the hotel is still there
but the ‘chemik’ lettering is now long gone. Note the major new road and buildings too.
On the left my photo taken from the top of the bell tower of St Mary’s Basilica, on the right a picture from Google Maps; notice how the houses have have all been restored to their former glory.
Another stark contrast at the Market Hall in the centre of Gdansk which was a pretty gloomy place in 1996. At right a shot of the hall after extensive restoration in 1999 and again in 2005. The distinctive curved windows helped me to locate it.
The ferry boat ‘Mariska’ pictured in 1996 moored at the famous pier in Sopot before leaving for Hel and Gdynia. The boat was evidently well-known and loved enough for it to offered as a scale model kit.
Three students chat onboard the ferry shortly after leaving Sopot on a somewhat overcast day in May. At right one of the many small boats from Hel I saw at the quayside in Gdynia.
There were lots of ship and boat building yards around the port area and Dalmor still seems to be active in Gdynia, although I couldn’t discover where I took these shots.
A somewhat bleak Bar Morski somewhere near the port area and a row of wonderful sheds and lock-up garages in a dusty back street; I could find neither location.
At left what I think is an enormous enlargement of a ferry ticket mounted on the wall of a block of flats in Gdynia. At right one of the many typical kiosk displays crammed with cigarettes that I came across.
Note the marked contrast here between the pre-EU Gdansk at left with relatively quiet streets and buildings still bearing the grime of years past. At right a shot from StreetView of the same spot today.