History

A first brick building was erected in the first half of the 14th century as a two-bay house with a stoop. It was rebuilt a number of times in the following centuries. For centuries, the house belonged to bourgeois families of German origin, the Fogeleweders, the Taubers, and the Schillings. After the councillor Jodok Schilling (1564) and the castellan of Wojciech Padniewski (1594), the Kenc family owned the house in the 17th century, hence its commonly used name. In the first half of the 18th century, the property belonged to the councillor Andrzej Szafałkowic and after 1746 to Karol Tuszka, the owner of the neighbouring Wosińska house. The late 18th century saw major renovation and retrofitting works, when the house was in the hands of King Stanisław August’s architect, Józef Le Brun. In 1823 the Swiss Lorenzo Paganino Cortesi opened a confectionery store, later taken over by his countrymate, Gaudenzio Redolfi. In the years 1825-1831, the third floor was added. The rear brick annex dates back to the 14th (?) century. It was extended up to the height of the second floor at the turn of the 16th century. In 1836 Redolfi established a partnership with Parys Maurizio from Lviv, and in 1841 their company acquired the entire house. The confectionery became popular, mainly owing to its excellent liqueurs and candied fruit.  General Józef Chłopicki resided on the first floor in the years 1853-1854 and died here. In 1861 Maurizio took over his partner’s stock in the company and the house. He took care to ensure a refined and fashionable décor of the store. The cabinets and shelves were decorated with gilded bronze elements. The characteristic decorations were the late Empire style. In Franciszek Klein’s opinion, it was “the oldest and the most beautifully furnished establishment not only in Kraków but all over Poland.” After 1875 the store was run by Jan and Gustaw Maurizio. After a fire in 1879, the house was thoroughly remodelled. The damage to the structure was so serious that the entire third floor had to be reconstructed. The ruined façade also needed renewal. During the reconstruction, the attic its characteristic carvings in the central part was preserved. The side annexe, built in the years 1825-1831, was also renovated. It had been erected in place of a structure from the turn of the 16th century. Subsequent alterations and renovations of the house followed in 1863, 1872, 1902, 1908, 1913, and 1920. The façade decoration was made between 1880 and 1882. After WW2, the confectionery store was nationalised and took the name Antyczna. Further renovations of the building were carried out in 1957, 1972 (removal of the porches of the rear annex), 1974 and finally in the years 1990-1992. The original equipment of the confectionery was in the large part devastated by the new owners.

Description

A four-storey, three-axis house with a high, decorated attic. The façade is divided by three vertical axes delineated by window lines. The rectangular shapes of the shutters on the first floor are disrupted by stone ornaments that refer to the decorative motif used in the attic. Unfortunately, the uniform Biedermeier-style equipment (made by Płoszyński around 1820) has not survived. A stained-glass transom window with an owl and the name of Redolfi can still be seen over the entrance. It was made at the beginning of the 20th century according to the design by H. Uziębło in a studio run by W. Ekielski and A. Tuch. The second floor features wall paintings by Michał Stachowicz. The date of J. Chłopicki’s death is inscribed on a memorial plaque next to the entrance to the building.

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
• Rożek M., Przewodnik po zabytkach i kulturze Krakowa, Kraków 1993
• Marcinek R., Kraków, Kraków 2001