A distinctive element of historical northern frontage of Rynek Podgórski square.

History

The building is one of the oldest in Podgórze. In the end of the 18th century and in the early 19th century, brick buildings appeared slowly; they were mainly located by the “Imperial” route and on the northern side of the Square Market, where a house existing before the establishment of the town (currently the house “Under Black Eagle”) was adapted to serve as the first town hall. The first Baroque and classical buildings in Podgórze, with the Office and the Customs Chamber, sparsely deployed along the old routes, delimited the shoots of the following present streets: Staromostowa, Brodzińskiego, Józefińskiej, and Piwna. The House “Under Black Eagle”, existing before 1784, was adapted to serve as the first town hall of Podgórze. Soon thereafter, the office was moved to the address 14 Rynek Podgórski. Later on, the classical house “Under Black Eagle” was a popular inn and wine house which is evidenced today by a wide gate, through which loaded merchant cards could access the yard.In the inn, in July 1829, Frederic Chopin spent his last night in Poland. In 1862, fire in the inns “Under Deer” (Polish: “Pod Jeleniem”) and “Under Black Eagle” destroyed 10 houses “towards the bridge on Vistula”. Roofs of many neighbouring houses were removed to stop the fire. During the January Uprising, the building was searched by the police - they suspected that it was used as a weapon storage for the Kingdom. In 1860s, an omnibus to the spa resort in Swoszowice departed three times a day from a stop by the inn. In 1878, the inn was temporarily closed due to socialist propaganda promoted there. In the beginning of the next century, in the so-called Grand Room Under Black Eagle, meetings of the Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia and theatrical plays for the workers were held. In 1915, the building housed a bakery, wine store, brasserie, and a “cheap market”. During the Nazi occupation, the house was located on the Ghetto side.

Description

The building is made of brick, shaped in Baroque and classical style in the last quarter of the 18th century. It was rebuilt in the second half of the 19th century, and renovated in approx. 1950. The inscription on the tympanum above the entrance, originally “Under Black Eagle” was replaced in 1970 by “Under Eagle” (the colour of the eagle relief was also changed). The building features a surviving mansard roof. Some premises at the ground floor level house shops today. In 2014, the building was renovated from the funds of the Social Committee for Restoration of Cracow Monuments (roof and façade).

Private building, not accessible for visitors. Only premises at the ground floor level can be accessed in the opening hours of the shops.

compiled by Roman Marcinek, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Krakow, 20-03-2015.

Bibliography

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