It is also a component of the urban layout of the Old Town Market Square.

History

The property originally consisted of two land plots. Their boundaries were probably determined in the 16th century when Piotrków obtained the town rights. It is not possible to establish precisely when the land plots were built up, because no architectural or archaeological research has ever been carried out. In the 18th century, two townhouses existed here. On the land plot with cadastral number 19, there was a townhouse called Jakubowa or Jakubowszczyzna. In 1775, it was sold to Marcin Dobrowolski. Land plot no. 20 initially belonged to the Jesuit Order. In 1774, after the dissolution of the order, it was sold to Maciej Mostowski, a cup-bearer (Polish: Cześnik) from Piotrków, then to Wojciech Techniczewski, and in 1777 to Jan Duklan Mieszkowicz-Przyłuski - the castellan of Brzeziny and starosta (community elder) of Piotrków. In 1776, Przyłuski bought the land plot no. 19 from its previous owner and set about building a townhouse. In 1786, the works were disrupted by a fire. The construction was not completed until 1796. The newly erected townhouse was called the “palace of Honourable Mr. Przyłuski - the castellan of Brzeziny and Starosta (community elder) of Piotrków”. In 1818, the townhouse became the property of Jan Urbański, the plenipotentiary of Mr. Przyłuski. Since 1848, it was owned by Teodor Bolesław Friese. In 1848, the building burned down. In 1853, Friese sold the land plot and what had remained of the walls to Jan Hiller, an Orthodox Jew whose real name was Pinkus Horowicz, even though the law at that time forbid Orthodox Jews to buy real property in the city. In the years 1855-1865, Horowicz built a townhouse with two outbuildings. During the January Uprising, the building housed a political prison known as the “citadel”. Since 1879, the property was managed by Horowicz’s sons, who burdened it with debts. In 1901, the townhouse was put up for auction. It was then bought by Stanisław Kępiński. Later the same year, it was bought by Józef Żarski. The architect Mojko created a plan for the alteration of the façade of the townhouse, which was approved. in 1903. In 1924, the property was bought by Romuald Malangiewicz and Antoni Uniszewski. In 1927, Mangielewicz sold his part to Julian Grabowski. Today, the townhouse remains in the hands of family members of the heirs.

Description

The property is located centrally in the eastern frontage of the Tribunal Square. Its façade is facing west.

The townhouse with the outbuildings was erected on a U-shaped floor plan, along the western, northern and southern boundaries of the land plot. The principal block follows a floor plan of a rectangle. In the eastern elevation, there is an avant-corps containing the staircase, on a floor plan resembling a section of a circle. The staircase occupies the eastern part of the hallway which provides access to the yard. The principal block has two bays. Each of the single-bay outbuildings was erected on a floor plan of an irregular rectangle. The structures are compact, with a gabled principal block and outbuildings covered with shed roofs. The avant-corps containing the staircase is covered with a roof shaped like a section of a cone which combines with the eastern surface of the roof covering the townhouse.

The building represents the Eclectic style.

The townhouse and the outbuildings are made from solid ceramic bricks laid with lime mortar. The ceilings are made of wooden beams with a soffit, covered with plaster, with the exception of three rooms on the ground floor in the outbuildings, where Klein ceilings were used.

The wooden roof truss over the front building was assembled using purlins and straining beams. The outbuildings are covered with shed roofs. The roofs of the principal block and of the northern outbuilding are covered with plain ceramic tiles. The roof of the southern outbuilding is covered with bituminous felt on a timber deck. In the cellars, there are earthen and cobblestone floors. On the ground floors, there are terracotta floors, concrete screeds, wooden floors and white floors on joists. On the upper floors, the floors are made from wooden planks.

In the principal block, there are wooden stairs, reinforced concrete platforms, multi-flight stairs and parts of winder stairs. In the northern outbuilding, there are wooden winder stairs. In the southern outbuilding, there are wooden, two-flight, half-turn stairs. The wooden balustrade is made from turned balusters.

On the ground floor, there are permanently fixed shop windows, with no divisions. Above, there are contemporary, coupled windows with a pane pattern imitating that of the original windows. Each wing is divided into three sections. In the front elevation on the ground floor, there is a wooden, frame-panelled door, glazed at the top, with a decorative lattice. In the balconies, there are modern, coupled porte-fenêtre doors. The other doors are contemporary and made of panels.

The front (western) elevation is seven-axial, symmetrical and three-storey. On each storey, the three central axes are separated from the two extreme axes by wider strips of the wall. The wall on the ground floor has rusticated strips. On the axis, there is a window opening flanked by door openings, with the northern one leading to the hall. On the extreme, double axes, there are pairs of window openings. At the top of the ground floor, there is a profiled cornice. On all the three central axes above, there are two porte-fenêtre windows leading to the same balcony. Each balcony is supported by cast iron supports and has a balustrade with a contemporary design. Under the windows furthest away from the centre, there are decorative panels with half balusters. All the openings on the first floor are surrounded by a full arch. They are enclosed by profiled surrounds with an underlined keystone in the apex of the arch. The wedge-shaped elements which form the arches are covered with floral motifs. All the openings are topped with profiled cornices. Under the cornices, there are tiny blendes. The sills are formed by sections of profiled cornice. Above the windows, there is a horizontal strip separating the storeys. Under the three central windows of the third storey, there are decorative panels flanked by pairs of pilasters embellished with plant patterns and covered with profiled window cornices. The pairs of the openings furthest away from the centre lead to balconies supported on metal corbels with a metal balustrade. The central openings are porte-fenêtre windows, which lead onto the balcony platforms. The openings on the third storey are rectangular. Each opening is enclosed by a profiled surround running from the top of the window to the fanlight, with a decorative keystone on the axis. The surrounds of the openings are connected with a horizontal, profiled strip. The whole is finished with an entablature with a prominent, profiled cornice resting on decorative brackets. The one-axial fragment of the northern elevation of the principal block has a similar design. The eastern elevation of the principal block is two-axial. The northern axis is accented by the avant-corps containing the staircase, which has two rectangular, high window openings and a door opening on the ground floor. The southern axis is accented by three rectangular window openings. Each window is divided into nine sections. The ground floor is separated from the upper storeys by a profiled cornice. The elevation is highlighted by a prominent under-eaves cornice. Both cornices continue to run on the elevations of the outbuildings, as the only dividing lines there.

Private property. The building can be viewed from outside.

Compiled by Agnieszka Lorenc-Karczewska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź 1 July 2020

Bibliography

• Pracownia Projektowa “Architekt” (“Architect” Design Studio), record sheet of monuments of architecture and construction, 1994, Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Łódź, National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Warsaw,
• Głowacki K., Urbanistyka Piotrkowa Trybunalskiego, Piotrków Trybunalski – Kielce 1984.