Granary

The granary was built in the early 20th century (around 1905) according to a design by Walter Gropius, a world-renowned architect.It isthe only surviving structure from the entire complex of manor buildings in Janków.

Gropius arrived in Janków in 1904 to visit his uncle. With his uncle’s permission, after finishing school, he began his apprenticeship in Janków as a young master craftsman. It was then that the entire complex of buildings was constructed: a manor house, a laundry, a blacksmith’s shop, residential buildings for workers, and a granary. To this day, only the granary has retained its original appearance; the rest of the buildings have been rebuilt or completely demolished.

The granary is built entirely of brick, and part of the facade is plastered. The building’s structure consists of three interlocking rectangles. It has two stories, a high basement, and a turret with five stories. It is covered by a hipped and gabled roof. Noteworthy are the wooden reinforcements on the upper stories of the building. 

It was a very modern structure, as it featured manual elevators for vertical transport, a clock (of which only the face remains today), and a^{5 m³} expansion tank. 

Grain was stored in the granary until the 1960s. Subsequently, until 1975, it was used by the state-owned farm (PGR) to store chemical fertilizers. Over time, the building fell into disrepair. In 1977, it was listed as a historic monument, but this did not improve its condition. It was not until 2004 that the Drawsko Pomorskie Municipality took over the property and protected the building from further deterioration by repairing the roof and reinforcing the walls. 

According to municipal records, the building’s condition is rated at level 3 on a 5-point scale of structural preservation. The most serious threats to the structure are gaps in the brickwork. For safety reasons, the entrances to the granary have been bricked up. The building can be admired from the outside while visiting the nearby manor park.