The building is an example of a typical 19th-century tenement house and forms part of the Kościuszki street frontage which constitutes a well-preserved urban complex from the times of the Kingdom of Poland.

History

Back in the early 19th century, the parcel of land at 71 Kościuszki street remained the property of Szepszel and Lejzor Frank; in 1852, it was purchased by the State Treasury. The tenement house was designed by Karol Majerski, a well-known local architect. It was designed as a residence for the regional governors. The most well-known among them was Benedykt Tykiel, the civilian governor in the years 1843-1859). The building came equipped with lavishly appointed guest rooms, making it the perfect stopover destination for high-ranking officials. Marshal Józef Piłsudski is known to have been one of its guests in 1919. During the interwar period, the building served as the offices of the District Governor and the State Police. Today, the building remains the property of the Suwałki commune, which is yet to find an appropriate function for the tenement house.

Description

The tenement house is a part of the tightly clustered row of buildings forming the western frontage of the Kościuszki street. The building’s roof ridge runs in parallel to the street (side-gabled arrangement).

It was designed in the Classicist style. The tenement house was erected on a rectangular floor plan, with a back building on its northern side. It is a two-storey brick structure with a gable roof. The front façade follows a sixteen-axial layout, with a triangular pediment positioned above the fourth, fifth and sixth axis; a pair of pseudo-avant-corps projects from the façade on the tenth and sixteenth axis. The individual storeys are separated from one another by a profiled string course. The ground-floor level features decorative rustication. The gateway leading into the back yard is positioned on the tenth axis of the front façade and is topped with a segmental arch. The windows are rectangular in shape, with the first-floor windows being framed with plain surrounds. Balconies with openwork cast iron balustrades, supported by stylised corbels, are positioned on the fifth, tenth and sixteenth axis. The interior follows an irregular, two-and-a-half-bay layout.

The historic monument can be visited from the outside.

compiled by Grażyna Rogala, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Białystok, 23-12-2014.

Bibliography

• Bacewicz J., Ulicami i uliczkami Suwałk, Suwałki 2008, pp. 55-56.
• Suwałki miasto nad Czarną Hańczą, J. Kopciał (ed.), Suwałki 2005, pp. 222-223.