Serbski dom

The Serbski dom (German: Haus der Sorben, 'House of the Sorbs') is an administrative building on Postplatz 2 in Bautzen, Saxony, Germany.

While bearing the same Sorbian name in order to convey continuity, the German name switched due to the pejorative use of the term Wenden during the Nazi period.

Pressured by Jan Arnošt Smoler, the then head of Maćica Serbska, the association began to collect donations for the construction of the Serbski dom (Wendisches Haus) in 1866.

[4][5] Due to the amount of books stored in its library and the ever-growing collection of ethnological objects, the house proofed to be to small for its purpose.

[6][5] Jurij Łusčanski, the apostolic prefect of Meißen in Upper Lusatia and head of the Maćica Serbska inaugurated the building on September 26, 1904, after seven years of construction.

It became the center of Sorbian cultural life, accommodating the scientific community and its library, the Wendische Museum and the Smoler'sche Druckerei und Buchhandlung (Smoler's publishing and book store).

The Bautzen municipal council passed a bylaw on March 6, 1947, transferring the property of the burnt-down Lessing School to the Maćica Serbska as a replacement for the Wendisches Haus.

[10] Following a call to tender, the architectural practice Högg & Rötschke from Dresden was chosen to build the Serbski dom.

[1][11] The building was funded by donations from the Lusatia and Slavic speaking countries (especially the ČSSR, Poland and Yugoslavia) yielding 1.5 million RM.

In addition, young people of the surrounding villages worked for free in the brigades of the Sorbian youth organization Serbska młodźina during the Natwarjamy Serbski dom ('We build the house of the Sorbs') campaign.

During the currency reform in 1948, changing Reichsmark (RM) 10:1 for East German Mark (DM), the Domowina lost most of its funds.

The facade on the Kurt-Pchalek street resembles the sand stone sculpture "Jungbrigadierleiter", commemorating the Brigaden movement during the construction phase.

Wendisches Haus (left) on the Lauengraben, 1915
View along Goschwitz street to Postplatz with the Lessing School (left) and the Post Office (right), 1914