Until 1846 this house, like many others on the market square, had not had a retail function opening up to the street.

History

The house was built in the first half of the 14th century. Its rear bay was added at the end of the same century. Ca. 1541 the house belonged to Stanisław Odrowąż, the starost of Opoczno. Later, it passed into the hands of several burgher families. At the turn of the 16th century, the house was rebuilt. The most profound works were carried out around 1610 to adapt the building to the Baroque style. In the years 1640-1655, the owner was Lorenzo Tucci, hence the contemporary polinised name of the building. In the winter of 1683, en route from Vienna, King John III Sobieski dined here while watching a ceremonial show from the windows of the building. In the 18th century, the house was held by the Zalewski family, and in the 1860s it was transferred to the Wielowiejski family. Ca. 1770 another adaptation was carried out. The renovation undertaken by Karol Kryszkier in 1781 for Marianna Wielowiejska née Dąbska and her son, King Stanisław August’s chamberlain, focused on the temporary reinforcement of the building structure. More extensive upgrades took place at the end of the 18th century. However, it is likely that the classicist façade and interior of the Wielowiejski’s house date back to as early as the 1780s. In 1831 the building was purchased by Michał Stróżecki and in 1848 by Feliks Lewicki, who proved to be an unlucky owner (the building was damaged by a fire in 1850). From 1795 the building housed the Under the Golden Crown pharmacy, the emblem of which has survived on the façade. Until 1846, the so-called Prussian Post operated in the building, dispatching coaches to Wrocław. After a fire in 1850, the building was renovated. In 1863 it was acquired by Juliusz John. In the years 1908-1909, the ground floor was rebuilt and adapted to modern commercial requirements. In the years 1922-1925, the 3rd and 4th floor superstructure was added designed by Adolf Siódmak. At the same time, two side 17-century outbuildings and the rear 14th/15th-century outbuilding were rebuilt according to the design by Beniamin Torbe. The years 1978-1985 and 1987 saw full-scale renovation and conservation works in the building.

Description

A three-level, four-axis townhouse with an exceptionally high attic. Its renovation, already carried out in the 21st century, has caused a heated debate and controversy which led to an official investigation. According to the prosecutor’s office, the renovation works were carried out without a permit and permanently destroyed the historic building as well as disrupting the line of the southern frontage of Rynek Główny. The prosecutor claimed that the interior of the house had also been damaged during the works (e.g. by removing the stove with a mirror and housing with a characteristic ornament). The charges have not been upheld by the court.

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