History

The plot at Rynek Trybunalski (Tribunal Square) was probably planned in the 16th century when Piotrków obtained the town rights. The property is first mentioned in historical records in 1719, according to which there was a townhouse called Matefrowska or Ciechańska there. According to documents from 1790-1791, the property was ravaged by a fire. In 1835, on the site of the burnt building, a two-storey townhouse with an attic was built in the frontage of the Market Square. Before the end of the 19th century, the building was raised to include one more storey. After the First World War, the townhouse house was remodelled. One more storey was added and an outbuilding was built.

Description

The building is located centrally in the northern frontage of the Market Square. It is situated between two-storey townhouses. A three-story outbuilding adjoins its northern elevation.

As a result of numerous alterations, the original stylistic features of the building have been obscured.

The principal block follows a floor plan of a rectangle and has a rectangular, two-bay avant-corps on the axis of the front elevation. The main entrance, hallway and staircase are on the side axis from the west. The outbuilding was erected on an irregular rectangular plan, one-bay, with a staircase in its northern part. The structure of the townhouse incorporates a rectangular front building and an identical outbuilding. Both have four above-ground storeys and are cellared. The principal block has a gabled roof and the outbuilding has a shed roof. The avant-corps in the front elevation covers the three lower storeys and forms a base for the balcony on the forth storey.

Both buildings are made from solid ceramic bricks laid with lime mortar. During secondary masonry alterations, cavity bricks and aerated concrete called Suporeks were also used, laid with lime-cement mortar. The walls are covered with plaster.

One room in the cellars is topped with a barrel vault made from bricks laid with lime mortar, plastered. There are Klein ceilings over other cellars and some rooms on the ground floor. Other ceilings are made from wooden beams with a soffit, covered with plaster The roof truss over the front building is of a purlin type, with two ceiling purlins, a ridge purlin and two intermediate purlins supported on a queen-post wall. The roof is covered with bituminous felt on the roof boarding.

In the cellars, there are cement floors. On the ground floor, there are terrazzo tiles, terrazzo screed, broken granite and cement floors. The upper storeys have wooden floors: plank floors and parquet floors. Single-flight stairs lead to the cellars. The above-ground storeys have two-flight, half-turn, reinforced concrete stairs. The treads are made of terrazzo or cement. The balustrades consist of simple metal bars and wooden handrails. Wooden, ladder-type stairs lead to the attic.

The contemporary, coupled windows mirror the form of the original windows. The windows have two wings, each divided into three sections. In the balcony, there is a porte-fenêtre window with a fanlight. One the ground floor, there are permanently fixed shop windows.

The single and two-wing doors are frame-panelled, with a fanlight.

The front (southern) elevation is smoothly plastered. It is seven-axial, four-storey and symmetrical. On the axis, there is a three-storey, single-axial avant-corps with a balcony on top. The axes are accented by the rectangular openings. The elevation is set on a low offset plinth. In the first, third and fifth axis from the west, there are door openings. On the other axes, there are shop windows. The ground floor is crowned with a double cornice with a smooth frieze.

Above, there are decorative panels, arranged rhythmically under the window openings. The central avant-corps is flanked by a pair of corner pilasters, two-storey high. The central window has three wings, whereas the other windows have two wings. The window openings are surrounded by a profiled frame. Above each window, there is a decorative panel and a section of crowning cornice. The storey is topped by a cornice. Above, under the third-storey windows, there are six-section decorative panels. The window openings are surrounded by a profiled frame. The storey is topped by a cornice. Above the avant-corps, there is a balcony with a metal balustrade made from bars, with a strip containing a meander pattern at the bottom. The fourth storey is topped with an under-eaves cornice.

The northern elevation is two-axial on the ground floor and four-axial and asymmetrical on the upper floors. The axes are accented by rectangular openings against the background of a smoothly plastered wall. On the second axis from the west, on the ground floor, there is a double door leading to the hall. Above, there are window openings which provide natural light to the staircase. The windows are divided into sections in the same way as in the front elevation.

The elevation of the outbuilding is six-axial and symmetrical. The openings are arranged against the background of the smoothly plastered wall. At the height of the second and third storeys, there are passageways in the form of porches along the elevation. The balustrades consist of straight bars.

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 23 June 2020

Bibliography

• Pietrzak J., Record sheet of monuments of architecture and construction, 1996, Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Łódź, National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Warsaw,
• Głowacki K., Urbanistyka Piotrkowa Trybunalskiego, Piotrków Trybunalski – Kielce 1984.