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So far, voivodeship offices have been associated with office buildings where you can apply for a passport, concession, licence or a permit. Hardly anybody imagined sightseeing such places. However, the West Pomeranian Voivodeship Office building in Szczecin has been attracting the attention of those strolling along the Oder River for a long time. Its monumental facade is the dominant element of the city’s panorama and it is often shown on the postcards from Szczecin.

In front of the over 100-year-old building, there always used to be groups of tourists stopping off, interested with what was inside. Therefore, when working on the revitalisation project, it was decided to make the building accessible to visitors, as it was worth showing them how many interesting things are hidden within it and what a wonderful view unfolds from its tower.

Walking along Wały Chrobrego Promenade, we usually pay attention only to the magnificent facade of the Voivodeship Office building, but this neo-Renaissance structure consists of five wings with two closed courtyards. The renovation works covered all the building’s facades, including the walls of the two towers. In the building’s interiors, in turn, numerous elements were exposed as a result of conservation works, e.g. the colourful polychromes in the staircase and original inscriptions at the top of the portals were renovated. Moreover, several excursion routes were marked out. Tourists can now see the towers and the fallout shelter, with the devices and elements of equipment dating back to the Cold War period, being still in working order. To add variety to the Voivodeship Office’s offer, educational classes for students are organised. The topics, such as “What can be found in the Voivodeship Office’s vaults?” or “How many steps does the tower have?” arouse the youngest visitors’ curiosity. Furthermore, in the historic interiors of the building, role-playing games are organised. All this is to popularise the city’s history and shape the sensibility to architecture. The project was to take almost three years and be completed only in March 2014. Despite the hot weather, which definitely did not make scaffolding works easier, the renovation and conservation were completed eight months ahead of the schedule. As a result, the building in its new version could be seen by over a million tourists coming to the sailing ships rally “The Tall Ships Races” in 2013.

The Voivodeship Office still conceals quite a lot of secrets that are vividly talked about by over 30 office’s employees, as it is the first voivodeship office in Poland that has been opened up to its customers and tourists in such a way. The properly trained employees have become guides – volunteers who are enthralled with the history of their workplace.