History

The main stone building was erected here in the 1st half of the 14th century. The rear bay was added after 1367. Although gradually expanded, the house has retained its former stoop in the underground part, rested on a 14th-century vaulted cellar attached to the front and supporting a terrace. The rise of the ground has made the former ground floor recess to what is now part of the basement. In 1475 the house burned down (it started a fire of over 100 houses as far as Mikołajska Gate) and was rebuilt at the turn of the 15th century. During the reconstruction, it was raised by one floor while obtaining the spatial arrangement of the interior that has survived to this day. Another alteration took place in the first half of the 17th century. Buttresses were added to consolidate the structure, the loft and the interior were re-designed. The house has changed its owners many times, hence its multiple names: Gehanowska (after the family of wealthy goldsmiths), Helblinkowska, Korycińskich. Today, it is best known as the house Under the Sun. Mikołaj Ferdynand Koryciński, the starost of Ojców, was the last owner of the house in the Koryciński family (1641). After that, the building became the property of Bonaventura Briganti. In the 18th century, the house belonged to K. Woliński, the founder (1736) of a foundation converting Jews. In the mid-18th century, the house was renovated. After a short-term ownership of the wealthy merchant Józef Laskiewicz (1744), the house was partly abandoned and auctioned. The buyer was Jan Szaster, a well-known local physician. The founder of pharmacological studies at the Main Crown School, he launched a pharmacy establishment called Under the Sun (in 1939 it moved to house no. 42). In the years 1783-1793, the building hosted lectures and classes for pharmacy students. After his death, in 1812 the family sold the pharmacy to Józef Sawiczewski, the manager of the Dominican pharmacy. The first half of the 19th century saw a major reconstruction in the classicist style. This is when the present-day façade was made (before 1825). Only the decoration of the ground floor was converted in a neo-Renaissance spirit at the turn of the 19th century (1883) and in the early 20th century (1913). The roof was remodelled after 1832. At the beginning of the 20th century, the house was purchased by Remigiusz Wiskida, who altered it (around 1913) and gave it its present form (according to F. Mączyński’s concept). In the years 1930-1931, renovation was carried out supervised by Stefan Piwowarczyk. A new staircase was added, and the loft was converted into residential space. In 2008 the front façade was renovated under the supervision of the local conservator of monuments.

Description

A four-level, two-bay townhouse and a habitable loft hidden behind a pseudo-attic. Little has survived from the former interior furnishings, apart from a precious Mannerist stove. The rear and side annexes were built in the 2nd half of the 15th century. They were rebuilt multiple times (1st half of the 17th century, 2nd half of the 17th century and 3rd quarter of the 18th century) and were thoroughly transformed around 1913 and during renovation in 1982. The second level of the cellars has remained uncovered to date.

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