History

The brick structure was erected in the mid-14th century on a plot separated from the land that originally belonged to the present-day Hetmańska house. The land was at the monarch’s disposal, so the legend has it that the separation was made by Władysław the Elbow-High. He purportedly transferred the property to his Hungarian ally, the magnate Amadej Abo, who co-financed king’s struggle for the throne. The house was rebuilt at the turn of the 14th century, and at the end of the 15th century the second floor was added. At the turn of the 16th century, it was converted into the Renaissance style. The high gable roof was reduced and hid behind a new attic. In the 17th century, it was a three-level house owned by Maciej Wojeński, the first professor of anatomy at Kraków Academy. In 1659, the house was rebuilt once again while in the hands of Benedict Amadei, a merchant whose name has remained with this place until today. The last renovation in the Old Poland period took place in the fourth quarter of the 18th century. At that time, the house changed hands and became the property of the Feistmantel family. In 1830 an exclusive women’s shoe store opened in the ground floor run by Szymon Sikorski. After 1850, during the renovation of the burned-out building, it was attached (according to Feliks Radwański’s design) to the Hetmańska house, whose owner purchased the neglected Amadejowska building. The wooden utility buildings were replaced by a brick outbuilding. At the end of the 19th century, the Civic Casino was housed on the first floor of the front building. The original layout was restored during renovation in the years 1981-1988.

Description 

A three-level, narrow, two-axis townhouse with a habitable attic and a simple form of an attic style. The stone portal leads to a staircase (today a house without a vestibule that was there before). The façade is simple and free of decorations.

The site is partly available: freely from the outside but inside only during the working hours of the stores and institutions.

Author of the note Roman Marcinek, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Kraków 20/04/2016

Bibliography

• Dyba O., Kraków. Zabytki architektury i budownictwa, Warszawa 2007
• Encyklopedia Krakowa, Warszawa – Kraków 2000.
• Fabiański M., Purchla J., Historia architektury Krakowa w zarysie, Kraków 2001
• Komorowski W., Sudacka A., Rynek Główny w Krakowie, Ossolineum 2008
• Komorowski W., Pałace miejskie Krakowa 1. połowy XIX w., “Teki Krakowskie”, vol. XIII
• Rożek M., Przewodnik po zabytkach i kulturze Krakowa, Kraków 1993
• Schönborn B., Oglądamy Kraków, Kraków 1979
• Marcinek R., Kraków, Kraków 2001