Tobias Kumkar - Story of a land by Amsterdam Academy of Architecture

Story of a Land

About a landscape, identity and us

Tobias Kumkar Academy of Architecture Amsterdam

Story of a Land

About a landscape, identity and us

Tobias Kumkar Academy of Architecture Amsterdam

Introduction

bout 30 years ago the ruin of a church became the starting point of an ongoing journey that brought together strangers of different nationality and confession and with different languages and cultures that once faced each-other as enemies. But with one common ground; for everybody the land the church and the town stand upon is part of their identity, their home. My grandfather was one of the initiators of this project in his hometown in the former eastern areas of Germany that then became part of Poland at the end of WWII. Two generations later and with the disappearance of the generation of witnesses of the destruction of the church and inspired by the reconstruction project and the peoples commitment, attachment and passion about their lost or inherited home, this project is a journey through the land and it’s stories that shaped so many of us. Three locations are the starting point of this journey that highlight, reveal or encourage the discovery of our connection to the land. Each location, in its own way, creates an experience that invites people to (re-)discover and embrace the characteristics and qualities of that specific place. Based on the historic, cultural, natural and personal layers of the landscape they represent new perspectives and approaches to inspire a discourse on peoples connection to their land and to each-other. Together they represent the diversity of the landscape and its inhabitants and create a base for a new approach towards the renegotiation and rediscovery of its and our identity.

Content About a land

A Manifest

Chojna

Meeting places

Here, now, there, then

Forgotten Beauty

A town and it’s landscape

Three location in a landscape

Chojna

Witnica

Home

124

Metno

About a land A Manifest

ith the defeat of Nazi Germany in April 1945 for many people in Europe a long and horrible time period of war, hunger and uncountable other horrifying memories finally came to an end. But especially in the eastern areas the end of the war only stood for the beginning of another period of unimaginable struggles and suffering. Germany was divided between the four allied nations, the US, the UK, France and the Soviet Union, and with the Potsdam Conference in July 1945 the reorganisation of eastern Europe was finalised. This reorganisation had by far its biggest impact on Poland which already before had a turbulent history of territorial changes. Regaining its sovereignty only 27 years before at the end

of WWI it was now facing an immense shift westwards. Loosing almost half of its territory on the east to Lithuania, Belarus and the Ukraine, approx. 2 million Polish people that were already driven out of their homes at the beginning of WWII were now send westwards towards the so called ’new territories’. While in the eastern parts of Poland the ethnical Poles which where affected by the expulsion represented a minority of the population, their destination the western ’new territories’ witnessed a complete change of their entire population. Consisting of the former German provinces Schlesien, Pommern, Ost-Preußen and Neumark which constitute for approx. 1/4 of the prewar territory of Germany, approximately 15 million Polish and Germany people where affected by the change. At the end 1 in 5 people in western Germany was a displaced person from one of the former eastern provinces; a territory the size of Bulgaria witnessed a complete swap of its inhabitants.

Poland and its borders before and after WWII

My grandfather grew up in a small village called Jädickendorf just outside of Königsberg Neumark about an hour and a half north-east of Berlin. For generations his family was living in and around Königsberg with his grandparents still living in one of the small tower houses adjacent to the medieval city wall. Königsberg, which flourished after being connected to the local railway, was the educational and administrative centre of the area in a mostly agriculturally dominated area. But with the upcoming of WWII, as for many people all around the world, live in and around Königsberg changed dramatically.

Königsberg before WWII

When the war began my grandfather had just turned 14, but in the course of the war every closely capable man was enlisted into the army. Passionated about water and the sea and looking for a less politicised position in the military he enlisted for the German marine. Trained as an engineer for two-man submarines that where designed to enter hostile harbours undetected to place explosives, he escaped his first and most likely fatal mission with the closing

of his unit towards the end of the war. For the last days of the war he was transferred to an artillery unit before getting imprisoned by the British army in northern Germany. While he was away in the war his family remained in Königsberg. With the closing in of the red army towards the end of the war the area was evacuated towards the north. My grandfathers grandparents, too old for the long journey, decided to stay in Königsberg against the official evacuation orders and were later found shot in their front garden. In February 1945 the city was taken almost without a fight and a couple of days later the remaining citizens were forced to witness the looting of their homes and the following burning down of their city without being allowed to take out the many fires. At the end of that night about 3/4 of the cities buildings lay in ruin including the majestic St. Mary’s church in the centre, the proud of its citizens. About half a year later for Germany the war was over and the family returned to their home only to be forced to leave again with the arrival of its new Polish residents.

‘Der Untergang de Stadt K’ - Ernst Marow

In the following moths all remaining Germans east of the rivers Oder and Neisse had to leave their homes and move westwards. His family made it over the Oder but with his mother too weak to travel they ended up in the closest city, only 40 km away of their old home which now became part of the new polish territories. 150

Migrants (in thousands) Finns Baltic peoples Russians Germans Czechs and Slovaks 410

Poles Turks 60

Yugoslavs

40 100

Italians

90 50

2300

1950

1850

5150

1500 2900 1900 250

150

300 300

400

160

Migration after WWII

For many people the experience of the war and the loss of their old home became a live-long trauma they carried along. All over then western Germany so called ’Heimatvereine’, societies for the displaced people from the old territories sprung up. Museums and archives with saved artefacts of the old ’Heimat’ opened and many people dreamed of returning to their old homes - may it just be for a visit or even for good. My grandfather, who had escaped captivity and had build up a live with his family in Hannover, also played with the thought of visiting his old hometown for many years. With the family of his sister still

living right next to the new polish border he had many opportunities to visit the then closed-off eastern part of Germany. But for many years he could never make himself go the last steps and actually cross the border and go back to where he grew up. Finally, in the late 80’s, after many friends already went back to visit their old homes and tried to pursue him to do the same, he allowed himself to organise a first trip. Crossing two heavily secured borders from western Germany through the DDR into Poland he went to visit his former home for the first time after more than 40 years. Immediately he got into contact with polish people now living in his old village - a foreign and even western licence plate draw attention upon itself. Together with a local polish civil engineer whose German wife escaped the displacement waves after the war hiding in the forest and then managed to stay in the area, he went to visit the close by Königsberg now called Chojna. What he found was devastating. More than 40 years after the end of the war most of the old city was still in ruin. Only a few soviet housing blocks were added to house the freshly settled Poles. And in its

Ruin of the St. Mary’s church 1987

empty centre the ruin of the once so majestic St. Mary’s church, the church he and so many of his family members were baptised or married in. Standing in the ruins of the church he and his newly won polish friend took the decision to rebuild the old Church. Together, as a polish-german corporative project. As a sign of hope, friendship and integration.

was 11 years old when I first visited Chojna. On a bike tour with my parents and brother we crossed the border into Poland, which at that time was still not a member of the EU or the Schengen, and made us on the hilly way towards the town. Our goal was to visit the yearly celebrations of the reconstruction project my grandmother always talked about full of enthusiasm. From this first visit on I was so fascinated by this project in a for me so far away and unknown yet somehow connected place that the visit to those days of celebration slowly became a yearly tradition for me and my family.

Me and my brother on our first trip to Chojna

Today, more than 30 years after the start of the project the reconstruction of the church is still ongoing. My grandfather already passed away many years ago but on his journey of reparation and forgiveness he and his fellows managed to win over many other former and current inhabitants of Chojna and their families, Polish and German politicians and church members. Even though

the church is still far from being fully restored, especially from the inside, today it stands again in its full size in the centre of expanding town. Over time it became a symbol of identification for the former and current inhabitants of the town and a symbol of friendship and integration for the whole area on both sides of the border. And in this connection with the people around it, the connection it created between so many different people involved in the project over the years lies the biggest achievement of the reconstruction project, rather than in the reconstruction itself. With every meeting, with every struggle and succession on the way, with every fiercely held discussion about the future path the project should take, the people of Chojna, the teachers, priests, politicians, reporters, engineers and the people of Germany, the former inhabitants of Chojna, their friends and descendants, got to know each other a little better. Of cause those discussions and decisions did not always end in total harmony and full agreement. But the mutual goal of reconstructing the church together and a general agreement on how to approach this project, always kept the

My grandfather on his first trip to Chojna

project going with the people afterwards connected more than before. And so by time, what started as a project of regret, guilt and hope developed into a project of friendship, trust and mutual respect with a deep and lasting friendship not only between two individuals or a group but between Germans and Poles, between cultures and nations. A friendship that is a beacon for others to follow and a harvest from. For me, this friendship, this mutual understanding between the people that meet in the context of the project is the driving inspiration to continue and invest into a friendship of future generations. “Friendship is a special personal form of direct social relations that is made - without specific role commitments - voluntary and for a longer not specified period.” “Friends must be seen as equals by one another […] friendship is seen as voluntaristic and highly personal […] the development of friendship is based on private negotiations and is not imposed through cultural values and norms.” Friendship is mostly created trough common interest or a common ground and the spacial connection between the individuals involved. People without a common ground and interests and a common spacial connection are much less likely to develop a relationship of friendship. For the project in Chojna the common ground was the mutual conviction of the necessity to fix, repair and prevent the repetition of the devastating events of WWII and the idea of repairing and rebuilding the damage it caused in order to create the possibility for a positive view towards the coming future. But also the shared experience of loosing a home that was taken as granted and having to renegotiate ones identity starting over at a new place. With the growing distance to the events of WWII, less and less witnesses of it within our mids and no reasons or necessities anymore for the succeeding generations to fix a past that never directly affected them this common ground is disappearing. But what appears instead is the common ground of valuing the friendship that came with it. The land stays as connector. The build environment stays as connector. Those are manifested memories. This friendship not only connects individuals but it creates a sense of connection for everybody involved that extends the limits of ones own cultural inheritance, that connects us people trough a shared history and creates inspiration and perspective for current and future generations through the idea of friendship.

The first oeconemic service in the cleaned-up ruin

Chojna with its surrounding landscape and its turbulent history creates a perfect starting point for this new kind of friendship. With its fate, its many stories and influences it stands for an atmosphere of discovery and rediscovery, of questioning and assurance, of answers and hints and renegotiations and debate, creating an atmosphere that stimulates connection and interest in the discovery of ones own identity and the ones of our friends.

grew up in an openminded liberal and individuality promoting environment with parents that were active in advocating a locally oriented and environmentally and socially responsible way of life. With the bigger family spread over the whole country and collective vacations abroad traveling by train or bike became a normal part of my vacations I felt privileged about. Of cause I envied all my friends going on holidays conveniently by car taking half of their belongings with them but in retrospective this way of traveling with the many new people I met on the way by chance and the many inspiring new experiences you don’t get in a car on the highway but by trying to catch a connection train in a foreign station with all you unhandy luggage plus bikes and no elevators. Later on hungry for the unknown, school exchanges to other continents and cultures brought a bigger picture and general curiosity and openness towards cultures and societies. Cherishing the idea of renegotiating or maybe for the first time creating my own identity independent of my inherited and culturally predefined one. Graduating high school and starting a new study created the perfect environment for this so that in the following years no place or country could hold me too long and I finally ended up building up my own live abroad in Amsterdam. In my years abroad I got to know a generation of people that has a different notion of home and identity and belonging to a place or culture other than the one of our parents or friends that lived their whole life in one area with clearly defined boundaries and customs. These people I met had a deeper connection to individual people they meet on their way but also to specific places or cultures independent of their own origin. They all bring with them their own package of experience, history and heritage but are open and creative towards other and unknown ones and more or less successful in connecting and interweaving them with their own. And each one of them is getting to points where they have to question and evaluate their own customs and characteristics but also the ones of others leaving them as individuals that are more secure and articulate about their own identities and characteristics later on. Many people are suspicious about such a big disconnection from their inherited and traditional cultures and values and fear the disappearance of cultural values and identities altogether which are so important for the creation of our own identity. And for sure their lays a danger in pursuing such a lifestyle. Traditions and customs but also family and the society around us are reliable elements in our live that give us stability, security and the feeling of belonging. But looking at the past we see what cultural segregation and isolation leads

to, especially in such a densely populated continent as Europe with so many differentiated cultures and cultural notions in one place and ecological and humanitarian herculean tasks such as climate change, global refugee movements and global justice. But looking at the past we also see that cultural explorations or cosmopolitanism always was a significantly influencing factor of evolving humanity. After all, where would we be, for better or for worse, without sailing the seas, discovering new continents, exploring our far and close surrounding.

Me discovering the landscape around Chojna

Europe’s past with its ever changing and evolving cultural boarders, alliances and identities is the best example for this. Looking at myself I will always feel connected to the city and home I grew up in, I will always feel a nostalgic sense of belonging and home whenever I go back and visit my family and friends still living there. But I also developed those feelings for many other places, people and cultures around the world. That together creates my identity. Over time I recognised that these feelings, the feelings of identity, of home and belonging exist on different levels, on an individual level but also on a social or cultural level or on a geographic level. The more I live abroad, the more I live an international live, the more I notice the independence of these levels. This makes it hard for myself to define them and in order to do so it asks much more precision and refinement then if I would be living a live closely connected to my own origins and heritage. But it creates an individuality and feeling of home and belonging that is much more articulate, defined and valuable at the end. Being raised in a more left and liberally oriented family background but also in a in general more liberal and inclusive society I developed a certain sensibility towards populist, nationalistic or strong conservative ideas. Growing up in Germany and being taught about our shared history I felt almost a fear towards the possibility of nationalistic ideas in my surrounding. The more devastating is it now to open up one of the main news pages and see at almost any moment headlines about upcoming and strengthening nationalistic tendencies all over the world ranging from Brexit in the UK, Donald Trump as president of the US and his challenging twitter politics, ‘Front National’ in France and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands to Austria, Hungary, and Poland. Even in Germany with its devastating past and responsibility that was carried by its citizens in response, parties like the AfD, the “Alternatieve für Deutschland’ and organisations like ”die Reichsbürger” seem to become more and more popular. With those tendencies in mind and the impact of the recent refugee crisis and the challenges of climate change and justice and its effect on our future economy our western societies in general seem to become more and more open towards more nationalistic ideas and social segregation, all in contrary to the ongoing internationalisation in education, economy and society. People seem to get more and more concerned about the differentiation between their own identity and the one of others and securing their current status of wealth and superiorities about others. A phenomena that definitely is no local problem but a problem of our current (western) society and must remind us way too

much of what we learned or didn’t learn in history class. The current tools and mechanisms that were invented to prevent the past from repeating itself and instead create a brighter future together, are not working anymore or even failed their purpose in general.

My grandfather peaking into an old house on his first trip to Chojna

The past has shown us that the path towards a brighter future can only be taken together. But not together as a uniform mass but as individuals representing our own identities and characteristics. We can not get there by thinking only in our own little box, by thinking only about our own survival or superiority. Only by opposing ourselves to the rest of society, by exposing us to the differences and similarities between ourselves and finding out about our similarities and samenesses that we have. Only then can we collaborate and work together instead of driving further and further into separation.

The suffering of the generation of my grandparents, their memories and their connection to places they’ve lost created a drive that lead to a peaceful collaboration between them and the new inhabitants of their lost home. The events of the war were very hurtful and devastating not only for them but for millions of people but in their result they created bonds that became so strong that they could create projects like the reconstruction of the St. Mary’s church. Without projects like this we will go towards segregation again, towards staying with what we know not questioning our own status quo and trying to understand somebody else’s status quo. As a result we would try to uphold and cherish only our own perspective, improve our own way of live without considering everything around us, most likely on the cost of the other. Something humanity and especially our developed western society is just too comfortable in, especially on a global level. The approach towards this attitude initially seemed to have changed after the war. First between our close neighbours and allies and slowly also on a more global level. But with more distance to the war it seems to be disappearing again. Working against this trend is hard, it asks much more from individual than a life in separation and nationalism.

Chojna

A town and it’s landscape

hojna is a small sized rural town with approx. 7.000 inhabitants characterised by its rural surrounding and proximity to the Polish German border. Located in and around a valley along the little river Rurzyca and multiple smaller tributaries and creeks it consists of a diverse patchwork of different neighbourhoods. In the center of the town sits the medieval core surrounded by a more or less remaining city wall with the omnipresent ruin of the church in its center. A few historic buildings such as the reconstructed town hall, the old monastery, a school building and two of the old city gates are the sole reminders of a formerly dense medieval city layout. The gaps created in the aftermath of the war are filled by some early soviet apartment blocks scattered in its eastern part and some newer and more adapting apartment houses lining the old street patrons but still leaving many areas open. Outside the city wall, especially towards the south and east bigger extension areas from the early 20th century spread out with the train station at the eastern end of them. Up the hill towards the south about a kilometer out of the town the old barracks of the former military airport form the most souther end of the town. With a lot of building activity going on slowly filling up the big gap between the airfield and the rest of the city a contemporary part of freestanding family houses on former farmland is in its uprising. As a city Chojna forms the education center of the area with multiple schools located in the old center. Besides a small cultural center in its old town hall there are no other noteworthy cultural institutions present today. Economically agriculture was and still is one of the bigger factors for the area. Therefore the towns silhouette is also dominated by a big grain silo just outside the town along the train tracks and an older one next to the train station. With the right wind direction the close by pig farm above the town can also be recognised in the towns air. A second economical factor for the whole area is the proximity to the Polish German border with its big border shops, especially at the Cedynia crossing. The many hotels in the town and the area are a visible sign of this proximity being mostly booked by border tourists or seasonal workers. With a limited range of work opportunities outside of these fields many people from Chojna commute either to the nearest polish city Szczecin or Schwedt and other towns on the German side of the border. This lack of opportunities also leads to the departure of most of the high school graduates and younger generations to Szczecin or other big cities with many of them never to return. On the other hand Chojna is also an arrival point for people moving in from the surrounding villages.

he surrounding of Chojna is characterised by endless small villages and settlements spread across the hilly area. The influence of the ice age left the area marked as an end moraine landscape with its gently sloping hills and countless smaller and bigger lakes, rivers, creeks and wetlands scattered throughout it. Only at the edge of the Oder valley steep cuts off the hills create the natural border of the area. Along this border many protected nature areas can be found, mostly set up for bird recreation. In general the area is more or less split up between agricultural fields following the slopes of the hills and woodlands, mostly used for forestry. The building substance in this rural area shows much more historic substance from the prewar era than in Chojna itself with a strong influence of local materials and craftsmanship in the usage of field stones and bricks. Many old country houses and estates can be found with the most accessible ones transformed into farms or houses, a few others redeveloped into more or less successful private enterprises such as hotels and retreats but many still laying in ruin.

eople in the area live a more independent and private live. With the background of the postwar territorial changes and no historic roots to the area longer then the last 75 years a general approach of self-organisation and independency can be recognised. Local clubs and societies in which people organise themselves do exist but besides them there is little commitment towards events and organisations of the general community, with the exceptions of religious and polish-national customs and traditions. In general little personal effort seems to be taken towards the improvement of the publicly oriented elements of live extending the functionally necessary ones, This shows itself for example in the state many facades and buildings are in, even though they are inhabited. Interestingly there seems to be a growing interest in the areas history before the polish or even german occupancy, visible in the formation of some historic clubs, the opening of small museums and exhibitions and a general interest in historic medieval objects and styles. The peoples relation to their surrounding nature can also be described as more pragmatic than appreciating. There are a few points in the surrounding that are frequently visited by the people of the area, such as monuments and parks, but besides that the only regular users of the beautiful and unique nature are the lone mid-aged mans spending their afternoons away from their family fishing in one of the many lakes. The contact of everybody else with their surrounding nature mostly limits itself to driving trough it from A to B or working the fields and woods. The exception being the summer when lakes in the area are highly frequented for swimming and mushroom hunting becomes a wide spread activity .

Meeting places

Three locations in a landscape

hree places in the landscape of Chojna are the beginning of a journey. A journey to meet, to tell, to rediscover, to imagine and to dream your own new perspective of yourself and the world you are part of. Three places in a landscape that is the silent witness of the past, bares its marks. That simply accepts. A landscape of innocence, but also of guilt, that serves as a collection of all our traces. But also a landscape that is free, free of all prejudice, nationality, race and preoccupations. It treats each and everyone that stands within it the same. It does not adjust or adapt to the individual, it stays itself for each and everyone. A landscape that bares the roots of our future. For me this is a journey of meeting places that are part of my own history. Maybe a forbidden history. Places that were taken from my ancestors. Places that meant a lot to them, that made them rootless. Now they don’t stand for my families present anymore, but for my families past. That doesn’t mean they should be forgotten but that they are there to be rediscovered through our own eyes. They are places that bare the potential to create new and different roots. Our own roots. The most important part of this journey is to get down on the ground, be in the place and meet the place and its people. Listen to the stories the place has to tell, the stories we have to tell. Afterwards we will all go our way again, but with one impression richer. One impression that remains, that connects us to a place and to each other. There should be friendship. Not only friendship towards a friend or a defined group but general friendship to the other, any other. To the environment, to the past and to the future.

Here, now, there, then Chojna

People are part of their landscape. The Bell Tower as a symbol of culture and society and as an important landmark and place maker. Connecting the town and its surrounding landscape.

The St. Mary’s church is located in the heart of the historic center of Chojna. With its shear size and the more than 100m tall bell tower it is an omnipresent element in the towns silhouette. Together with the historic town hall and the former rectory it is the only building left in the central area of the town which once contained a dense neighbourhood with the church and market square. Today it stands in the middle of an open gras field surrounded on two sides by the main street and adjacent buildings with little shops and restaurants.

The church in its current shape dates back to the 14th century but has seen many additions and modification over the years. It’s initial design is presumed to be created by Hinrich Brunsberg, at the time a well respected architect which

greatly influenced the medieval Brick Gothic style in north-eastern Germany. In the 19th century the tower was replaced by a new design of Friedrich Stüler one of the most influential architects in and around Berling at that time.

During the looting of the city at the end of WWI the city, as of most of the rest of the town, was set in fire by the Russian army. For many years it remained a ruin with only its brick skeleton remaining. in the now empty center of the town.

At the end of the 80’s, more than 30 years after it’s destruction, the reconstruction of the church began. With the help of volunteers the ruin was cleared out, columns were repaired or rebuild and a new roof was added. A few years

later the renovation of the bell tower became necessary to prevent its impending collapse. The tower was secured and a new top was added bringing it back to its full height. With the idea of creating seminar and exhibition spaces a new

concrete staircase and separation walls where added, making it possible again to climb up to the viewing platform.

In the past years the tower went into a state of decay again. The lack of program and heavy winter storms have lead to the collapse of many of the partition walls. Taken over by pigeons the tower remains in a sleeping state waiting to be

awoken again. Taking a closer look at the tower traces of all phases of the history of the church can be found. On the ground floor old field stones of an earlier church are integrated into the tower and mark the position of a former chapel that

stood adjacent to the tower. Starting to climb up closed off windows towards the church and old staircases in the massive separation wall are telling the story of the first tower that collapsed in the 19th century. Holes in the walls and massive

stone blocks are the last remnants of the old timber structure once entirely filling up the lower part of the tower and holding up the bells. And in the upper part the last additions added just before the war become visible. Then an extra story

above the bell level was added for extra stiffness and many of the elegant windows in the upper part were closed off. And then of cause the latest additions, the concrete staircase that brutally cuts through the beautiful lower parts of the

tower and the upper steel staircase and new floors dividing the upper part of the tower.

The bell tower of the St Mary’s church is the main orientation point of the area. It is visible from many kilometers away and an omnipresent landmark in the landscape.

With it’s in comparison enormous hight of more than 100m it is the perfect point to overlook and relate to the surrounding area.

With its spatially and culturally prominent position within the town and its strong connection to the landscape the tower serves as a connecting element between those worlds. Here they come together in one place.

From the outside the tower almost remains untouched. Only on the ground floor a new entrance situation invites people in and on the top new windows draw the attention on the themselves. The new staircase leading through the tower only peaks through the windows here and there but remains within the existing for the rest.

On the ground floor a new entrance situation leads people into the church. A new square in front of the main door with a row of new linden trees creates a new meeting point for people of the

town. Linden trees are traditionally the trees found on the central square and the central gathering points in a town. Door to the entrance hall of the church is removed and instead a new door placed

between the tower and the church itself, making the tower freely accessible. In the entrance hall itself the unfinished concrete floor that was added during the reconstruction is removed and a new

bridge leads through the hall revealing the foundation of the tower underneath. A bright chandelier creates a welcoming atmosphere and highlights the beautiful vault on the ceiling, one of the last

original ones still existing in the church. From the entrance hall the the existing spiral stair to the first level of the tower can be taken. The second stair hidden in the thick wall between the tower and

the church is accessible again trough the church and creates a second route up the tower leading through the forgotten world between the walls.

Arriving on the first level of the tower the first view of the vast open space of the tower presents itself. The sheer size of the tower really becomes visible now. Both stairs from the ground floor arrive here and two new meandering stairs start leading the way further up.

On the way up many interesting views and elements of the tower can be discovered. Old passages to the church, for example the passage to reach the destroyed organ, are reopened allowing to peak through the wall into the church.

Along the way many interesting views present themselves. Further up the big bell-windows create a light and airy feeling. A platform into the forgotten gap between the tower and the church are makes the connection between them visible. Traces of the first tower can also be found here.

Towards the end of the first stair the tower starts to get more narrow and the transition from a square form into a hexagonal shape starts. Stepping through the thick walls the first viewing platform can is reached. This platform is hiding behind thick columns in the four corners of the tower. Once pinakels they later got transformed into columns to stiffen

the upper part of the tower. The view is already great. Details of the town are still clearly visible but a first disconnection is clearly felt. Stepping through the next one the climb continues, this time through a narrow and winded stair announcing the transition into the second part of the tower.

Climbing up trough the ceiling the start of the upper part of the tower is now reached. Eight tall windows flood the space with light and a thin spiral staircase leads the way up through the open space of the tower that is getting narrower and narrower.

All the way on the top, almost 80 meters above ground, the second platform is reached. With just enough space left around the stair eight full-glass windows cantilevering out of the tower allow for a stunning 360deg view of the landscape around the town. The town itself appears really as a part of the landscape now, integrated into the hilly fields surrounding

the town. Standing inside again the look goes up, all the way to the top of the tower - too narrow to reach.

Section of the bell tower with the new staircase leading the way through the tower.

For the intervention of the tower simple materials are being used that reflect the characteristics of the area. The structure itself is made of blackened steel. Steel is a material commonly used in the area, mostly for cheap and fast additions and little huts. The staircases and platforms are welded in place. Instead of painting the steel afterwards to make it wear and tear resistant and protect it from corrosion the steel is heated up and treated with linseed oil, creating a durable unique black-/ blueish patina. On the ground floor and on the main levels the floor is made from a fieldstone terrazzo. Fieldstones of the area are collected and roughly cut in shape. The stones are then added into an earthen floor stabilised with cement and later sanded and polished.

The structure is kept as simple as possible trying to put the focus fully on discovering the tower and its layered stories. Therefore the steel structure is constructed as a stiff self-bearing structure resting only on steel blocks integrated into the walls of the tower. Traces of the same structural principle can be still found in the tower. Big stones were integrated into the wall that were the base for the timber structure within the tower. The new glass windows use the language of the existing windows in the tower. The steel structure of the staircase is cantilevering out of the tower on which a frameless glass box is placed to create a view with as little as possible obstructions.

Impression of the entrance. A new square in front of the church invites people in. Along the edges benches are integrated into the square giving the possibility to sit and rest. Here the small height differences of the surrounding grass field becomes visible. The church is build on a little hill, the highest place in the old town.

Impression of the entrance hall. A round bridge is leading the way trough the entrance allowing for views into the foundation of the tower. A chandelier is highlighting the beautiful vault, one of the last original ones in the church. Doors and passages are also cladded into steel, creating a new gate to lead into the tower and the church.

Impression of the the main stair. Two meandering stairs are leading through the tower. Ever new perspectives appear and no view is ever the same.

Start of the second stair, leading through the open second part of the tower towards the highest platform.

View out of the glass windows on the highest platform of the tower.

The glass windows are sticking out of the tower allowing to really take a step outside. The town feels integrated into the landscape.

Model pictures 76

Model pictures 77

Model pictures 78

Model pictures 79

Forgotten Beauty Witnica

A cross section through the landscapes layers of the past. Discovering traces, forgotten treasures and sleeping beauties. The landscape as a result of the past and the continuation of time.

Witnica is a small village south of Chojna on one of the main north-south roads along the border. It evolved around the local estate which dates back to the 13th century. After the war the estate was taken over by the polish government and turned into a state farm. before it burnt down 1990. Today the main mansion lays in ruin hidden within the thicket that took over ground including the beautiful park that lies behind it around a lake. Once the proud of the town it is hiding away, barely visible to the passer by on the, a forgotten beauty.

The estate is first mentions in the lat 13th century. Over the years it developed from a small manor into a big estate with a village appearing in its north. Expropriated after the war it was turned into the headquarters of the local state

farm overseeing vast agricultural lands and fruit plantages in the area. During this time the estate and the town flourished. The park was made publicly accessible and party converted into a zoo and many social clubs and events sprung

up in the town. In the course of the collapse of the soviet union and the following privatisation of the state farms the main mansion burned down probably to hide mismanagement and irregularities in the books.

A ruin ever since nature slowly took over. The remaining internal walls and the roof slowly crumbled down and the elegant park structure was more and more overgrown by bushes. Hiding behind the thicket that appeared it is now only visi-

ble upon a closer look and easily missed within the expanding fabric of the town. But its main elements are still traceable. Pathways seems to reappear out of the park, an old drainage structure shows itself in the swampy lake and rooms start

to become visible again within the walls of the ruin of the mansion.

Upon closer look the structure of the once extensive and beautiful park is still visible within the thicket that appeared over the years. The meadows with its many little lakes transformed into one big swampy lake again where boars and

other wildlife thrives. Only the former ditches to drain the meadow are still visible within its structure. The old path structure that once allowed for a relaxing stroll is still visible in the proximity of the old mansion but disappears more

and more the further you go into the park. The continuous route around the lake is now almost not possible to walk, too dense is the thicket already. Even an old grave of one of the former owners of the estate can still be found along one of

the old walkways. But looking upwards one can almost at any moment feel the presence of the old park. Big trees with an intricate network of massive branches are the silent reminder of the once so magnificent park structure. The many

different species and their placement tell the story of a well laid-out structure; chestnut, maple, linde, meadow, plane and purple beach are only a few species carefully placed within the park. And in between the the fresh thicket the rem-

nants of the once so cultivated society around the town, wild mirabelles, elderflowers, hazelnuts and berries.

The once so pompous entrance to the mansion in its adjacent park is now hardly recognisable driving along the main north-south route through the town. Massive chestnut trees along the remnants of the former driveway give

a hint of the former grandeur the place must have had. The driveway itself, still visible from the street, disappears into the thicket before reaching the former mansion making it impossible to get a first glimpse of the house from the street.

Only the old service buildings of the estate still reflect the old greatness of the place.

The ruinous state of the mansion and the adjacent park does not however mean that it is unused. Besides the big amounts of garbage cluttering the grounds trace of live can be found all over. A picnic table in the hall of the former entrance

and multiple fishing pears in the lake are some examples of this. And caring neighbours at least keep the biggest harms away and also proudly lead through the former grounds of the estate.

In the current situation the ruin of the former mansion and its adjacent park are invisible for passing by people. For the big street passing through the town the remnants of the former estate are more a burden than adding to the quality of the space.

The new situation draws the attention upon the ‘sleeping beauties’ of the place. Perpendicular to the axis of the street a new axis appears connecting the former mansion and its park with the crossing street and the former farm buildings of the estate opposite the street.

Three new elements along the new axis lead the explorer through the park. Where the axis meets the passing street a new street pattern draws the attention towards the hidden park. Passing cars are hearing and feeling the interruption on the otherwise smooth street. Where the axis crosses the ruin of the former mansion a cut is made to allow 92

passing through the ruin into the park behind. In the cut a slim steel structure it places creating bot a connection towards the inside of the ruin and allowing to climb up and view the park on both sides of the ruin in its entirety. And finally, in order to cross the swampy lake a passage is created allowing for dry passage on the ground of the lake. Where

the passage crosses the existing ditches bridges are rising out of the ground to not block the drainage. The pathway ends at a hidden clearing in the reet forming a platform to rest and enjoy the enclosed pond in the middle of the swampy lake.

Black Currant & Red Currant & Goosberries Blueberries

Hazel Blueberries

Elder

THE KITCHEN Raspberries & Blackberries Zwetschge

Plum

THE PANTRY

Mirabelle

Apple THE DINING Apple

Pear THE DINING

Pear

THE SALON

Cherry

In the ruin of the former mansion a little orchard found its place. Inspired by the wild fruits and berries that appeared during the years and the former fruit plantages of the estate this new orchard is a place for the people of the area. A place to enjoy a quiet afternoon, come together for a picnic and enjoy and dis-

cover the many typical fruits en berries of the area. Organised according to the original layout of the mansion one can also reimagine live in this once to majestic house. Every typical fruit and berry of the area finds its place in the new orchard, from cherry trees in the open and festive salon

, the dining hall with its pear and apple trees to the smaller and more intricate service area of the house with the kitchen and pantry and its many delicious berries fruits and nuts. it is divided in more open and festive areas like the salon with beautiful cherry trees

Section through the cut of the ruin. Two platforms within the cut allow for the explorers of the park to overview the park and lake from the same perspective the former owners of the mansion had. On the way up one automatically leaves the path along the axis and find itself in an oasis, a new orchard in the ruins of the house.

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Section through the ruin and its new orchard. The rubble of the collapsing mansion creates a hilly landscape that overtime got covered by a thick layer of fertile soil, allowing for a new live to grow on top of it. Under the canopies of the new fruit trees little rooms start to form that refer back to the original layout of the mansion.

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The ruin in its current state is overgrown by thick bushes a completely unaccessible. To make itself and also the park behind it accessibel a pathway along along a new axis is created. To allow it

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to pass through the ruin a cut is made. Over time a new orchard appears within the walls of the ruin which meanwhile continues to decay. Finally the last walls of the mansion are crumbling down but

the new structure, once allowing to pass the chaotic ruin, stands in the middle of a beautiful and fully developed orchard overlooking the new park.

2nd floor

1st floor

ground floor

Floorplans of the structure in between the cut leading through the ruin. Two massive walls open up the passage

through the ruin. On the outer side two staircases lead to the upper levels of the structure. Small openings in the mas-

sive steel walls allow to step off the main axes and discover the orchard within the walls of the old mansion.

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The floors of the structure creating the cut through the ruin are slightly sticking out of the walls of the former mansion allowing to take a step outside the ruin

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and get connected to the surround park. Resting on one of the benches overlooking the former park structure along the new axis allows to reflect and rediscover

ones connection to the landscape and its stories.

Within the swampy lake a passage is created to enter the lake with dry feet. Two solid walls keep out the water allowing to walk on the ground of the lake in be-

tween the tall reet. The pathway along the axis is created by ramming field stones into the ground, creating a more stable and clean surface to walk on.

Where the pathway rises over the water to allow the water in the ditches to flow through these field stones are stacked to form bridges.

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To create the pathway along the axis fieldstones are rammed into he earth in varying shapes and sizes. Many roads and pathways in the area, mostly informal ones, are based on the same technique. Sizes vary from big steppingstones freely placed to cross the wide meadows to smaller and denser places stones creating a more closed pavement passing the ruin. The new structure cutting through the ruin as well as the massive walls splitting up the water to create a passage are made out of rough corten-steel. Carefully crafted this material is referring to the civil character of the landscape, the big machines working the land but also the many rusty sheds that can be found all over.

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Entrance to the mansion and the adjacent park. Along the axis leading into the heart of the park the thicket is removed leaving only the trees of the original park layout. Cars passing by, already made aware of the existence of the park by a changing pavement pattern, now get a glimpse again of the ruin hiding behind the majestic chestnut trees and the adjacent park.

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Along the axis a cut leads through the ruin into the park on the other side. A steel structure within the cut allows to discover the old ruin and invites to step into the new orchard planted within its walls. Climbing up to the two platforms within the cut one can overlook the park along the new axis from the same perspective the former owners of the estate used to enjoy.

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From the elevated platforms within the cut a great view presents itself over the adjacent park and lake. With the thicket cleared out along the axis around the mansion the old and majestic trees of the former park are visible again, such as the purple beach, proud of every estate owner of that time.

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On the inside of the ruin a new orchard is being planted. Over time it grows into a beautiful place for a picnic or just a relaxed afternoon. Typical fruit trees and shrubs are carefully positioned according to the original layout of the functions of the mansion. In the center of the ruin the structure of the cut creates the opportunity to also explore the ruin vertically, creating a remaining element of the new park while the ruin continues to slowly disappear.

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Passing through the swampy lake two corten-steel walls split up the water. Walking on the ground of the lake surrounded by tall reet one experiences the isolation of the wilderness, being reminded of the lakes past by crossing one of the drainage ditches every now and then.

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At the middle of the lake deeper water creates an opening in the reet. Surrounded by the reet on all sides with the trees of the park as a second layer of enclosure this is a place of rest and quietness. Only the ruin of the mansion up the hill at the end of the path connects back to the rest of the forgotten park.

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Home Metno

People and their landscape. Reflecting on arrival and departure, personal memories, dreams and stories. Landscape as a representation of home.

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For many people that do or once did call the landscape around Chojna their home the sight of the tower at the horizon is evokes the feeling of belonging and home. Approaching Chojna from the direction of the polish-german border crossing Hohenwutzen just after the village Łaziszcze the streets climbs a last hill before descending into the valley of the river Kalica. Just after the highest point the street takes a slight turn to avoid the last highpoint before the edge of the plateau. It is exactly then that the majestic tower of the St. Mary’s church appears at the horizon for the fist time. The traveler as arrived home again.

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Almost 35 years ago my grandfather went for the first time back to visit his old homeland. On his trip he took a picture at precisely the same spot, where the tower of the St. Mary’s church becomes visible again for the first time.

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About 15 year late I was on my way with my family to visit Chojna for the first time. With our bikes we took the same border crossing and the same street and I still remember the moment that we first saw the church and my parents told us

“Look, that is where we are going today!”. Many people feel that way. On the hilltop next to the road, the highest point in that area, the remnants of an old viewing platform can still be recognised in the middle of a field. It was a simple

structure and must be destroyed already for quite some time frequently people can still be seen walking up the slopes on the field to reach that highest point and enjoy the view. It is the view down into the valley of the Kalica creek before the

landscape rises again for a last mountain range before descending again and one arrives in Chojna. In the hilly landscape losing and regaining the connection with the tower and Chojna is something experiences reg-

ularly. And every time one is reminded of the connection between the land and the town it belongs to. The stronger the joy becomes when one sees the tower appear again for the first time after a long journey.

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The landscape around Chojna is dominated by a hilly end moraine landscape. Villages are scattered over the whole area continuously appearing and disappearing behind the hills on a drive through it. Traditionally this is an agri-

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cultural landscape with multiple bigger woodlands covering the less accessible part of the area. Many bigger and smaller lakes are scattered over the landscape, with one of the bigger ones laying right below the viewpoint in the Kalica valley.

Most of the build substance dates back to the pre-war times and is build with local materials, mostly field stones as a base and brick for the upper levels of a building. A few newer houses, mostly apartment buildings and singel family

houses are added during the times but most of the buildings still give off the atmosphere of carefully crafted homes that people valued and cared for for many years. For the rest there is little to be found in the many small villages.

Besides a small church and sometimes a little convenience store these villages offer little distraction, the rural live dominates the daily routine. This is the landscape so many people lost after the end of WWII and this is the landscape many

other people slowly learned to connect and relate to after they were placed in it to start a new life.

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The location on top of the hill next to the main road coming from the german boarder crossing stands for the connection of the people to their land. It celebrates the arrival back home and the moment of goodbye on the way into the world. The new pavilion, the chapel of the home, is marking this special point creating a place were people can sit and look back at their landscape, come to gather and tell their stories of the land, reflect on what was and dream about what might lay ahead. It is a place to celebrate the peoples deep connection to their land.

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The new pavilion is located on top of the highest hilltop next to the road toward connecting Chojna with the german border crossing Hohenwutzen. It marks the moment one sees the tower of the St. Mary’s church appear behind the hills for the first time coming back home again.

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The pavilion resembles a gate one can step through to enter the land behind it. A few steps lead up to it through the narrowest part of the gate before wider and bigger steps lead down again creating the possibility to sit and enjoy the view of the landscape. A small platform sits behind the pavilion with a fireplace to gather around after a long hike or during one of the long summer nights.

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Frontview of the pavilion with the stair leading up and through the gate into the landscape. The shape of the pavilion refers back to the gates of the church it is oriented towards but also to the shape of the homes people live in.

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Back-view of the pavilion. After stepping through the gate into the landscape bigger steps offer a seat around a fireplace that creates an homy atmosphere that invites to share and reflect on ones connection to the landscape and its people.

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Sideview of the pavilion. It sits on the edge of the hill, just where it starts to descend into the valley and towards Chojna.

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Section of the pavilion. Stepping through the pavilion a few steps first lead up, emphasising the view over the landscape. Passing through the narrow point of the gate bigger steps lead down again where a fireplace creates homy atmosphere of reconnecting to ones land.

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The pavilion if build completely out of the materials of the land it stands on. Similar to all the local homes in the area the main building element of the pavilion is the brick. Typically made in the towns own brickyard these bricks reflect the local soil perfectly. The base of the pavilion, as at all the local houses, is made of field stones picked from the fields. In this case combined with the soil of the land into a terrazzo like structure that also forms the seating steps around the fireplaces.

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Traditionally bricks where made in the local brickyards. Nowadays most of the do not exist anymore but their traces can still be found in almost every bigger village in the area. If there was no brickyard close by bricks where made on the own fields after the harvest was brought in. This was a highly perfected process that integrated the right weath148

er conditions during the year with the availability of the ground and the use of times in the year with less or little work for the farmers. For the new chapel of home the same technique is used to create brick out of the local soil. After preparing the soil the year before the bricks are formed and sun-dried in fall after the main harvest.

Later stacked on the empty field into a kiln they burn for multiple weeks. After cooling off they are ready to be used in the next season. The quality of bricks from a field-kiln typically varies strongly. Accordingly stronger bricks are used for the more vulnerable parts of the chapel and weaker ones for the inner parts.

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View from the street approaching the highest point at the edge of the valley. Just before the street turns and the tower of the St. Mary’s church becomes visible for the first time the new chapel on top of the hill marks the approaching view and return to the homeland.

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Approaching the chapel of home the view over the valley down the hill appears.

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Stepping through the gate into the land. The chapel is oriented towards the bell-tower of the St. Mary’s church which can be seen at the horizon.

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After stepping through the gate one arrives in the landscape. Seating steps and a fireplace invite to stay and reflect on the landscape and its people.

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After stepping through the gate a small plateau in the field and seating steps invite to stay and enjoy the view.

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A fireplace creates a homy feeling during the long summer nights.

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Story of a Land About a landscape, identity and us

Tobias Kumkar Master of Architecture Academy of Architecture, Amsterdam Dec. 8, 2020 Amsterdam

Commision Uri Gilad (mentor) Ira Koers Łukasz Bąkowski External commision Jo Barnett Dingeman Deijs External advisors & support Abla elBahrawy Rosemarie Kumkar Dorota Dobak-Hadrzyńska Emilia Hadrzyńska Dominika Hadrzyńska Krzysztof Odróbka

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Story of a Land - About a landscape, identity and us Tobias Kumkar, December 2020 Academy of Architecture Amsterdam

Tobias Kumkar - Story of a land

Articles inside

Forgotten Beauty

Here, now, there, then

Meeting places