Wiślna).

History

A brick building was erected in this location in the second half of the 14th century and was enlarged in the following century. In the 14th century, it was owned by the dukes of Mazovia and hence one of its names, Książęca (Princes’ House). The main vaults and stone doorframes were installed in that time. In 1494, the house is said to be chosen as lodgings by a legation of the Doge of Venice, Dandolo, on his way to Poznań to King Jan Olbracht. Another famous figure who lived in the house (allegedly in the middle of the 16th century) was Master Jan Twardowski, the famous sorcerer. The house was remodelled in the first half of the 16th century and again in the years 1602-1614. In the 17th century, the building called “Propped House” (from a buttress that supported the structure) or “Old House” was owned by the Gostkowicz and Gordon families. The Gordons, who received their ennoblement in 1658, were originally from Scotland and were related to Margrave de Huntileus, affiliated with Mary Stuart. In Kraków they were commonly known as “the Huntlejs.” Piotr Gordon, the Kraków superintendent, bequeathed the house to his sons: Colonel Franciszek Gordon and Karol Gordon, the commander of the Kraków militia, Józef Gordon, and Wincenty Gordon. During their ownership, but no earlier than in the second half of the 18th century, the second floor was added. In 1788 the Gordons sold the house to Wincenty de Friedensfeld Laskiewicz, the wealthiest Kraków merchant and banker. His beautiful daughter Elizabeth married a young artist, Michał Skotnicki. The next owner of the house was Skotnicka and, from 1829, Emilia Kicińska née Brzozowska. In the 19th century, a chain blocking the street was removed from the wall of the house. After a fire in 1850, the house was rebuilt and raised according to the design of Teofil Żebrawski. In the interwar period, the building was upgraded according to the concept of Piotr Jurkiewicz. Major renovation was carried out in 1977. Unfortunately, in 2005 a fire broke out in the restaurant on the ground floor and consumed part of the building.

Description

A corner, three-storey, four-axis house with a habitable loft. At the end of the 19th century, it was given a form similar to a Palladian palace. The façade was transformed into a classicist style. The ground floor is a pedestal for pilasters running across two successive levels supporting the top floor. The building has extensive Gothic cellars.

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