History

The earliest mentions about the property of the Head of Kielce Commune adjacent to the market square date back to 1540 and 1668. Probably, in the late 16th and early 17th century the property ceased to serve official functions, which were transferred to the town hall, and retained its name “Wójtostwo” and began to serve as a tavern and inn for travellers. In 1780, a new single-storey drive-in house which was partly made of wood was built on the property. Masonry components of the building included only pillars of the arcades facing the market square, kitchen and basement. A stable for 30 horses was in the yard. T. Kościuszko with his staff stayed in the inn on 9-10 June 1794. After 1795, the property of the commune head was taken over by the Austrian authorities; from that time on, the estate as the Property of the Treasury was leased to tenants. The buildings on the property burned down during a city fire in 1800. They were rebuilt using masonry materials. A single-storey building was built on a floor plan in the shape of an inverted letter “L”, which involved developing a compact narrow front facing the market square and part of the outskirts of Św. Leonarda Street. It housed three large chambers for selling alcoholic beverages. The vaulted localities could have been remnants of the 18th century. The wing facing Św. Leonarda Street housed guest rooms.

In the background, there was a stable with 14 pillars and an entrance from Wesoła Street.

In the early 19th century, the “Wójtostwo” had a good reputation among travellers. The layout of the building in the mid-19th-century was similar to the present one. Between 1858 and 1944, the property was owned by the merchant Hönigmann family. The ground floor, i.e., a shop and 9 chambers, was occupied by the owner himself for commercial and residential purposes, while the first floor consisted of 12 guest rooms (“Saski” Hotel, operating still in the 1880s). In the early 20th century, the façades underwent slight modifications which involved transforming the arcaded gate opening into rectangular opening, replacing triangular window pediments with surrounds adorned with a rocaille motif. Currently, the estate is a private property. In 1958, an office building was erected on the site formerly occupied by stables. In 2001, part of the ground floor was adapted for use as banking premises.

Description

The tenement house is situated with its roof ridge parallel to the road, in a densely built-up area of the eastern frontage of the Market Square. It is located on a corner rectangular plot of land by the junction with Św. Leonarda Street. It was erected as a multi-storey building on a floor plan in an inverted L-shape, with a narrow front facing the Market Square, a chamfered corner and a long wing along Św. Leonarda Street. The entire structure is covered with a single multi-pitched roof. The front façades rusticated in strips feature eclectic décor limited to decorative window surrounds with accentuated corners and cornices adorned with friezes. The bevelled corner with a cast iron balcony on the first floor is crowned with a triangular pediment (formerly with the image of the Eye of Providence). A rectangular gateway faces the Market Square and is located on the outermost axis of the front façade. The gateway leads to a closed-off yard. The basements, some of the ground floor rooms and gateway feature the original barrel vaults. Despite alterations, old layouts appropriate for an inn and not for a residential tenement house are visible in the interiors. The front façade facing Św. Leonarda Street bears a stone plaque commemorating the stay of T. Kościuszko in 1794.

Limited access to the monument. The structure can be viewed from the outside. The commercial part is open to visitors.

compiled by Anna Adamczyk, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Kielce, 14-12-2014.

Bibliography

• National Archives in Kielce, files of the Insurance Directorate, ref. no. 133, pp. 259-276, Opis i plan z 1847 r.
• Adamczyk J. L., Przewodnik po zabytkach architektury i budownictwa Kielc, Kielce 1998, p. 53.
• Adamczyk J. L., Rynek w Kielcach. Przekształcenia przestrzenne i zabudowa mieszczańska Kielc lokacyjnych w XVII-XIX wieku, Kielce 1993, p. 71 et seq., fig. 59-61.
• Adamczyk J. L., Wróbel T., Portrety zabytków Kielc, Kielce 2004, p. 26.
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, vol. II: Województwo kieleckie, J. Z. Łoziński and B. Wolff (eds.), issue 4: Powiat kielecki, prepared by T. Przypkowski, Warszawa 1957, p. 40.
• Szczepański J., Wójtostwo w Kielcach, Kielce 1984.
• Wrońska-Gorzkowska R., Gorzkowski E., Album Kielecki. Starówka, Part I, Kielce 1996, pp. 32-34.