Zur Eisenbahn Inn in Piechowice (Petersdorf)

At ul. Przemysłowa 6 in Piechowice (Przemysłowa Street 6, Petersdorf), there was an inn called Zur Eisenbahn, which, in the 1930s, was operated by the Deckwerth couple – Emil and Elsa. After Emil’s death, Elsa took over the management of the restaurant, a world of business and inns that had been familiar to her since childhood.

Zur Eisenbahn Inn, source: Polska-org.pl

The couple got married on March 12, 1928, in Piechowice (Petersdorf). Emil Deckwerth, a restaurant manager, was born on December 24, 1897, in Osiecznica (Wehrau kreis Bunzlau). Elsa Walter, née Werner, also a restaurateur, and a widow five years his senior, was born in Szklarska Poręba (Schreiberhau) on January 9, 1892. Her previous marriage took place on December 15, 1913, in Szklarska Poręba. Her first husband, Richard Adolf Kurt Walter, was a brewer and lived in Cieplice (Warmbrunn). He was the son of economic inspector Adolf Walter and Marie Lonny, née Frommhold, who both originally came from Legnica (Liegnitz), and eventually settled in Jelenia Góra (Hirschberg).

On the left side, the first page of Elsa Werner’s marriage certificate; on the right – the first page of the marriage certificate of Elsa Werner and Emil Deckwerth.

From the marriage certificate, we can find out that Elsa was the daughter of Hermann Julius Werner, a restaurateur from Szklarska Poręba, and Anna Maria née John. The old Werner was the owner of Werner’s Gasthaus, an inn located at the site of today’s Museum of the Jizera Mountains (Muzeum Ziemi “Juna”, ul. Jeleniogórska 9, Szklarska Poręba; the building burned down in 2015 and was reconstructed). Interestingly, the original building was over 300 years old and stood on the foundations of an old watchtower. It housed the so-called Hunger Tavern, associated with the period of great famine. During public projects like building a mountain road along the Kamienna River, workers could receive, among other things, a loaf of freshly baked on-site bread.

Werner’s Inn, source: Polska-org.pl

Hermann Werner, as stated in the death certificate, originally came from Barcinek (Berthelsdorf), and passed away on October 3, 1922, at the age of 74, in house number 681 in Szklarska Poręba Górna. After Hermann’s death, the restaurant was taken over by Paul Kulas, a restaurateur residing in Pobiedna (Meffersdorf) at house number 30.

Emil Deckwerth’s death certificate

Returning to Piechowice and Elsa – her second husband, Emil Deckwerth, passed away on October 14, 1936, at the St. Hedwig Hospital in Cieplice Śląskie-Zdrój (Bad Warmbrunn) at the age of 55. Elsa continued to run the Zur Eisenbahn Inn until at least 1939, as documentation from the W. Schimmelpfeng Information Office from that year has been preserved. It is unknown whether they had children or if Elsa survived the war.

Zur Eisenbahn Inn, source: Polska-org.pl

Today, the building serves a residential purpose. Does anyone know if there was a restaurant in the building again after the war? Let me know!

Contemporary view of the building that once housed the Zur Eisenbahn Inn / Photo by Marta Maćkowiak

Sources:

Polska-org.pl

Zur Eisenbahn Inn in Piechowice (Petersdorf)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply