History

A first brick building was built in this location after 1300. It was later expanded towards the end of the century. In the 15th century, an upper floor was added; a re-design in a new style was done 17th century. The annexes were erected in the 15th century but were remodelled many times after that (first half of the 16th century, first half of the 17th century). From the 16th century, the Under the Golden Head house belonged to the families of Kraków pharmacists, the Szasters and the Pipans. In 1801 their heirs sold the house and pharmacy to Jan Kanty Bartel. The third floor was added in the years 1819-1820. A similar vertical extension project was carried out in the annexe but no earlier than in 1837 during the reconstruction of the entire complex (completed in 1838). Bartel sold the pharmacy in 1840 a chemist named Adolf Alexandrowicz. In 1847 the building was acquired by Józef Louis. He decided to implement a concept of romantic house-museum, with particular emphasis on patriotic themes. For example, he set up a gallery of royal portraits by Parys Fillipi. The house was also used to store the geological collection of Ludwik Zejszner, an outstanding explorer and researcher of the Tatra Mountains.  The Under the Providence house belonged to Antoni le du Bois in the 16th century. In the 17th century, it was held by the Kuligowicz family. In the years 1684-1712, it housed a bookstore run by the city councillor Mikołaj Królik. Around 1773 the house along with the bookstore was taken over by Ignacy Groebel who started a printing business here in 1783. His son’s widow, sold the printing business and the bookstore to Józef Matecki and the house to Filip and Tekla Włodoczyński. Matecki died in 1819, and the bookstore and the printing establishment were taken over by his stepson, Józef Czech, in 1824. Czech made its name as the published of the Kalendarz Krakowski chronicle. Until 1835 Ambroży Grabowski ran his book-selling business here. In 1836 Józef Louis acquired the decrepit house. The previously separate houses (Under the Golden Head and Under the Providence) were merged between 1847 and 1848. Around 1848, the house boasted Kraków-first Meissner stoves, a tar flat roof, iron windows and porches. Unfortunately, the building was damaged during the Austrian shelling of the city on 28 April 1848. In 1850 the house burnt down. The partly rebuilt building was bought by Duke Stanisław Jabłonowski in 1858. In 1853 Józef Chłopicki resided in the house.  Another renovation, according to Karol Knaus’s concept, took place in the years 1884-1885. Later alterations were made in 1933 (design by Władysław Stupnicki).

Description

A four-storey, five-axis townhouse. The original style features have been blurred. Bust decorations on the neo-Baroque façade. After the fire on the fourth floor in 1990, in the years 1995-2003, the house was converted into a shopping arcade (design by Marcin Janowski). The owner is proud of the transformation. As he put it, “The spacious interior, designed in the spirit of minimalism, harmoniously combines: a Renaissance staircase, Gothic vaults, glass and concrete, and a bold structure of steel escalators and lifts. Fashionable boutiques have moved in, offering shoppers designer Polish and foreign brands [...] Likus Concept Store occupies the finely restored cellars. It offers Italian delicatessen, a bar, wine selection.” Either way, the project raises many doubts.

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 0/04/2016

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
• Marcinek R., Kraków, Kraków 2001