History

The plot at Rynek Trybunalski (Tribunal Square) was probably planned in the 16th century when Piotrków obtained the town rights. It is not possible to establish precisely when the plot was built up, because no architectural or archaeological research has ever been carried out. Initially, the property consisted of several parts. The types of bricks and the used masonry methods suggest that the oldest part are the cellars located under the southern part of the townhouse. They protrude towards the Market Square, extending beyond the present frontage line, possibly being a remnant of the once existing arcades. The northern frontage of the Market Square was completely destroyed by a fire in 1786. At that time, the corner property belonged to the Perliński family. The western part was owned by the Pieścichowski family. On a plan from 1820, the part next to the market square is similar to the present-day one, whereas its eastern part – at Czarneckiego Square – is wooden. A plan drawn up by Wilhelm Bergemann in 1824 shows that all parts of the building along both frontages were made of brick. The southern outbuilding, erected in 1846, and the more recent northern outbuilding, are absent on that plan. In 1865, the property was destroyed by a fire that ravaged the eastern part of the city. The townhouse, which was owned by Mr. Michalecki then, was remodelled in 1867 according to a design created by the architect K. Szpakowski. After the demolition of the town hall in 1868, the corner part of the townhouse was remodelled with bricks salvaged from the demolished town hall. At the beginning of the 20th century, the property was owned by the Medical Society. As evidenced by surviving correspondence from 1928 and 1939, the owners were urged to renovate the building. In 1930, a water and sewage system was installed in the premises. In 1954, the plot became the property of the State Treasury.

Description

The property is incorporated in the northern frontage of the Tribunal Market Square. It forms the south-eastern corner of the quarter bordering with the Tribunal Market Square from the south, with Rwańska Street from the west, Wojska Polskiego Street from the north and Czarneckiego Market Square from the east.

The corner townhouse was erected on an L-shaped floor plan. Together with the outbuildings, it forms a closed quadrangle. The outbuildings were erected on a rectangular plan too, along the western and northern boundaries of the plot.

The building represents the Neoclassical style.

The townhouse and the outbuildings were built from solid ceramic bricks laid with lime mortar. In the cellars of the part facing the market square, bricks were laid in a Gothic pattern. The foundations were built from field-stones and bricks. The walls of the above-ground storeys are plastered. The cellars are covered with vaults made of solid ceramic bricks laid with lime mortar, barrel vaults with lunettes and sectional vaults. On the above-ground storeys, there wooden beam ceilings with a blind intermediate ceiling filled with daub, with a soffit, finished with lime plaster on a reed mat. In the outbuilding, on the first floor, there is a cantilever gallery with a Klein ceiling. The roof truss over the wings of the front building is wooden, assembled using purlins and straining beams. The outbuildings are covered with shed roofs. The roofs are clad with bituminous felt on the roof boarding. In the cellars, the floor is paved with brick. On the above-ground storeys, there are parquet floors based on subfloors, terracotta or terrazzo floors. The balcony platforms are made from planks, supported on cast iron corbels. In the gallery in the outbuilding, there is concrete screed floor. The stairs leading to the cellars are one-flight, made of brick and plastered, with a wooden railing. On the above-ground storeys, the stairs are wooden, two-flight, with a wooden railing. In the corner staircase, the stairs leading to the cellars are one-flight, quarter-turn and made from solid ceramic bricks with wooden treads. On the above-ground storeys, there are single-flight, quarter-turn, wooden stairs.

The walls are pierced with contemporary, coupled windows, with a pane pattern imitating that of the original windows. On the ground floor, there are permanently fixed shop windows with a fanlight. Above, there are two-wing windows. On the second storey, each wing is divided into four sections and on the upper storeys - into three sections. The doors are contemporary and mirror the divisions on the frame-panelled doors.

The southern and eastern elevations are articulated in the same way. The southern wall is three-storey and eight-axial, from the east with an axis on the rounded corner. The eastern wall is three-storey and fourteen-axial. Both are set on a low plinth. They are divided by flat pilasters in the giant order which are arranged rhythmically between the openings. On the ground floor level, rusticated pilasters serve as plinths for the smooth pilasters of the second and third storeys. The pilasters support a modest entablature with attic windows in the frieze area, topped with an under-eaves cornice. The axes are accented by rectangular openings, with no decorative surrounds on the ground floor. On the first floor, the openings rest on a window cornice and are topped with a section of profiled cornice. On the second storey, the cornice sections have the function of window sills. On the ground floor of the western elevation, there are door openings on the fourth axis from the west and in the rounded corner. On the upper floors in the westernmost axis and in the corner, there are balcony windows with metal, openwork balustrades. In the eastern elevation, there are entrance openings on the second, seventh, twelfth and thirteenth axes. On the tenth axis, there is the gateway opening topped with a basket arch. Above it, there are balcony windows and balconies with a decorative metal balustrade. The northern and western elevations of the main building and the walls of the outbuildings are smoothly plastered.

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 25 July 2020

Bibliography

• Pietrzak J., Record sheet of monuments of architecture and construction, 1997, Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Łódź, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Warsaw
• Głowacki K., Urbanistyka Piotrkowa Trybunalskiego, Piotrków Trybunalski – Kielce 1984.