Feniks Department Store (Wroclaw)

 store / shop, department store, 1904_construction

www.feniks.wroc.pl/
The Barasch Brothers' Department Store (German: Warenhaus Gebrüder Barasch), opened in 1904, Renamed Fenix (Phoenix) after the city transferred from Germany to Poland in 1945.
Built from 1902 to 1904 for the German Jewish merchant family Barasch by architect Georg Schneider, the store was opened on 4 October 1904. In 1929, the original art nouveau facade facing the market square was given a simpler, modernist look; the huge glazing above the main entrance was replaced with more conventional window rows. The large glass globe on the main tower, which had been damaged by lightning, was also removed.

After the Nazi party came into power, the Jewish Barasch family came under pressure, and at the turn of 1934 and 1935 decided to sell its chain of departments stores and leave the country, even before the official Aryanization of Jewish businesses began.

Like all of the historical center of Breslau, the building was heavily damaged in the final phase of World War II. However, immediately after the Polish administration was set up in 1945, reconstruction began and the building was reassigned to its original purpose on 7 August 1946. Initially, only the ground floor was restored and used for business. From 1961, the building was completely renovated and modernized; the second and third floor were added to the retail space. In 1965, the business reopened under the name Spółdzielczy Dom Handlowy "Feniks" ("Co-operative Department Store 'Phoenix'), which is still used today. The building itself remained municipal property until 1995, when the company finally purchased it from the local administration.