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Former edifice of the Bank of Poland and the Stock Exchange, currently the Museum of John Paul II Collection - Zabytek.pl

Former edifice of the Bank of Poland and the Stock Exchange, currently the Museum of John Paul II Collection


public building 1825-1828 Warszawa

Address
Warszawa, Plac Bankowy 1A

Location
woj. mazowieckie, pow. Warszawa, gm. Warszawa

The building is an example of the work of Antonio Corazzi and represents the style of Late Classicism.

The building was the first seat of the central bank of Poland. The feature is also related to the national uprisings: the November Uprising and the January Uprising.

History

The period the Congress Kingdom of Poland (1815-1830) was one of the most splendid in terms of the development of architecture and urban planning. The newly appointed government, with an extensive administrative system, required multiple public utility buildings.

Antonio Corazzi, a Tuscan architect educated in Firenze, arrived in Warsaw in 1819 upon invitation by Stanisław Staszic. Soon afterwards he became the general constructor of the Commission of Internal Affairs. When the Warsaw Scientific Society building that he designed gained approval, he was entrusted with the work on the edifices of the treasury administration of the Kingdom of Poland. Then, at the intersection of Rymarska, Elektoralna and Senatorska streets, he designed a triangular square named Bankowy and developed its western frontage.

One of the buildings located there is the edifice of the Bank of Poland and Stock Exchange. In 1825 the construction began according to the design of Antonio Corazzi, with the cooperation of Jakub Gay. In 1828 the main building was completed. In the same year however, a pavilion along Elektoralna street was added. The interior housed office rooms, cash desks and the stock exchange in a room below the cupola. As soon as two years after its erection, the bank witnessed the events of the November Uprising of 1830. The Administrative Council, presided over by Franciszek Ksawery Drucki-Lubecki, had its headquarters there. In 1863 the building was home to the assembly of the General Fund of the Kingdom, which was taken over by Aleksander Waszkowski - the bank’s employee and at the same time one of the closest collaborators of Romuald Traugutt.

The 19th century saw numerous alterations of the building, among others, in 1876 some arcades were walled up, thus creating additional office rooms. The building was renovated in the years 1919-1921 under the supervision of Marian Lalewicz. It was destroyed in 1939. In years 1950-1954 it was rebuilt under the supervision of Piotr Biegański. The lavish décor of the interior of the rotunda was abandoned and its vault was extended upwards. Cloisters in the parterre were also restored. The Museum of the History of the Polish Revolutionary Movement began to have its seat there. Since 1989 the building hosts the Museum of John Paul II Collection, which was established as a collection of the Western European art acquired by Janina and Zbigniew Porczyński.

Description

The former Polish Bank and Stock Exchange edifice is situated at the intersection of Bankowy square and Elektoralna street. It was designed in the Late Classicist style. A two-storey, compact silhouette of the edifice, with a rounded corner, presents a long horizontal façade. Vertical partitions are limited to a string of tall, open arcades. The façades have varied faces of walls: smooth on the upper floor and rusticated on the ground floor. On the ground floor of the building there are arcaded cloisters. The upper storey features windows terminating in semi-circular arches. The dominating vista of the edifice is a huge, corner rotunda of the stock exchange room with a cupola. Its tholobate is adorned with reliefs of winged glories authored by Ludwik Kauffmann. The figures hold a cornucopia and caduceus in their hands - symbols of peace and trade.

A round former operations room of the bank hides below the cupola’s vault. Initially, its interior was opening towards the entrance: with a clearance on the parterre with four Doric columns and with a Ionic colonnade on the upper floor. A balcony circumscribing the colonnade was also found on the first floor. On the upper floor walls, figurative representations were featured on panels under the cornice. The cupola’s vault was decorated by coffers.

The current plan of the building, after the reconstruction of the cupola destroyed during World War II, does not adequately reflect the historical partitions. The cupola is taller and constitutes the external cupola’s ceiling.

The museum is accessible from Tuesday to Sunday between 9:00 and 16:00.

Author of the note Bartłomiej Modrzewski, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch in Warsaw 21 March 2018

Bibliography

  • Kwiatkowska M.I., Kwiatkowski M., Historia Warszawy XVI-XX wieku. Zabytki mówią, Warsaw 1998.
  • Mórawski K., Głębocki W., Bedeker warszawski. W 400-lecie stołeczności Warszawy, Warsaw 1996.
  • Parafinowicz S., Pamiątki wielkiej wizji, https://www.nbportal.pl/wiedza/artykuly/na-poczatek/pamiatki-wielkiej-wizji, 22 January 2016, accessed: 21 March 2018
  • Zieliński J., Atlas dawnej architektury ulic i placów Warszawy. Śródmieście historyczne, vol. I, Agrykola – Burmistrzowska, Warsaw 1995.

Objects data updated by Jarosław Bochyński (JB).

Category: public building

Architecture: nieznana

Building material:  brick

Protection: Register of monuments, Monuments records

Inspire id: PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_N_14_BK.188817, PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_E_14_BK.39326