The Stary Browar (“Old Brewery”) is a cultural and business center opened on November 5, 2003 in the center of the Polish city of Poznań. It is located in the building of the former Hugger brewery, which was built in 1876 and was used until 1980. The brewery was founded on this site in 1844 by master brewer Ambrosius Hugger from Württemberg. His sons Julius and Alfons Hugger erected today's building as part of a major investment project in 1876. In 1918, a total of 72,000 hectoliters of beer per year were produced in the huge industrial brewing plants of Gebr. Hugger Bierbrauerei AG.[1][2]
The original exterior design of the brewery was painstakingly reconstructed as part of the conversion for the new use and was thus largely preserved. The shopping and business area consists of around 100 shops on four floors, offices and numerous restaurants, bars and cafes. The center also includes exhibitions and an art courtyard where concerts, theater performances and other events from various cultural areas take place.
The Stary Browar was recognized in 2005 as part of the Design and Development Awards of the International Council of Shopping Centers for the underlying concept of combining culture and trade as well as for the architectural design. An expansion was opened on March 11, 2007, bringing the total area to approximately 122,000 square meters and expected to double the number of stores. The total costs for both construction phases amounted to around 135 million euros.
The Stary Browar belonged to the entrepreneur Grażyna Kulczyk, who sold it;[3] it is now owned by the fund company Deutsche Asset Management.[4] Source: Wikipedia