The plot is part of an estate that in the Middle Ages fell within a royal animal preserve. In modern times, it adjoined the royal gardens in Półwieś Zwierzyniecki.

History

The Hunter’s House, formerly also known as the Lord’s Inn, was a distinctive structure in the local panorama. The name comes from a popular conviction that the building used to be the seat of a royal hunter. In the sources, it is referred to as “palace”, “Norbertine grange manor” and “a townhouse on the convent premises.” The manor house was built in the years 1644-1646 by D. and K. Kasprzycki under a privilege granted by the Norbertine Sisters of Zwierzyniec. The building merged two earlier structures, originally owned by the Herburts and Ligęzas, and purchased by the Norbertines. In the 1660s, the house was enlarged by F. Bieńczycki (the year 1664 clearly indicated). The property changed hands a number of times: the owners were the Niewiarowskis, Mieleckis, and Miklaszewskis. In the middle of the 18th century, the owner was a Kraków lawyer, Franciszek Miklaszewski. Later, in 1760, the estate was taken over by the Norbertine Sisters again (through the effort of the entrepreneurial abbess Petronela Poniatowska). In 1777 Russian officers were quartered in the palace and the Prussian army in 1794. The property was renovated in the 1770s and at the beginning of the 19th century (between 1801 and 1802, at the request of the Norbertine abbess Węgrowska). Further projects were carried out in the mid-19th century and after 1906. In the 19th century, the building housed an inn, and at the beginning of the 20th century a plant manufacturing “sweetened vodkas.” In 1914 the farm buildings were consumed by a fire. From 1922 the property was a factory of chemical reagents. In the years 1931-1933, the Norbertine Sisters transferred the property to the Parish of the Most Holy Savior in Zwierzyniec. In 1982 the parish let the property to the Znak publishing house. The company carried out major renovation (preceded by thorough conservation studies).

Description

A brick, two-storey building with a porch and a mansard at the front. The front façade has an inscription “DK KK 1646.” The main portal and part of the vault in the vestibule have survived as traces of the 17th-century stonework. The description of the house from 1800 mentions a garden façade “behind the vestibule,” with eight windows [thus stretching across the entire length of the façade], and “lumber gallery” of several levels, with stairs connecting the gallery decks on both sides. It is fairly probable that such a structure already existed in the 17th century to offer the residents an opportunity to rest. In the 19th century, the gallery was replaced with a brick, one-level extension, possibly with a wooden mezzanine. The change in the ground level is worth noticing. Kołłątaj’s plan clearly shows two circular steps in front of the porch: they are gone today. This means that in the 17th century, the surface of the ground had to be about 80 cm lower. The building was a detached structure because of the winged window frames on the first floor and rustication along the entire height of the corners. What looks like side wings on Kołłątaj’s map is described in the 1800 inventory as “roofed up rooms of old truss wood.” The preserved vaults, beam ceilings and wall paintings on the first floor come from the early 19th century. There are no iconographic records available, but the results of the historical and architectural analysis confirm that the main body of the Hunter’s House was not transformed in the following years. The garden and the adjacent (built and empty) plots are part of the historic Norbertine farm in Półwieś Zwierzyniecki. After 1982 an outbuilding was erected in the garden to house a printing facility. In the past, the garden had to be of a decorative character. This can be seen in Kołłątaj’s plan. It shows the layout of a spacious, square garden with an alley lined with trees, and, in the further perspective, ponds, one of them very extremely large and called Zwierzyniecki.

The site may be visited upon prior arrangement with the landlord.

Note by Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Kraków 12/11/2014

Bibliography

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