History

The villa was funded in 1906 by the local highlander Płaza (hence, Płazówka, the original name of the building). It was probably designed and built by Jan Ustupski, nicknamed Kubecek. Until the 1970s, the building belonged to the Płaz family. In 1976 it was purchased by the Kraków University of Technology. To establish the Regional Architecture Studio. Until 1990 it was headed by Dr Stefan Żychoń and next by Prof. Przemysław Szafer. Currently, it houses the Stara Polana hostel. In the 1980s, a north-west wing was added according to the design by Stefan Żychoń. The architecture of the new wing clearly alludes to the regional architecture and can therefore be considered a extra historical layer.

Description

The villa is located in ul. Nowotarska, about 10 m from the street, in a garden. Facing south, it is preceded by a yard accommodating a parking lot. The house features a modest version of the Zakopane style and contemporary regional architecture in its older and newer section, respectively. It has an irregular plan, one floor and a habitable attic, and a basement. It is covered with a double-pitched roof with half-gables. The villa is set on a concrete foundation and a stone base. It is a wooden log structure with inner boarding. The part added in the 1980s is made of brick. The rafter is a collar beam truss, the roof covered with shingle. 

The front façade is symmetrical; in its central part, it has a protruding avant-corps of the multi-level porch. In the roof slopes, on both sides of the porch, there are “lean-to” openings. The side and rear façades are asymmetrical. Double windows of the Polish and Venetian type. The decorative details are typical of the Zakopane style. They are mainly in the form of an in-depth carved rite (over the doors and windows) and openwork cut-outs in the porch balustrade. The finely profiled cantilevers have been preserved. The roof gables are decorated with the sun motifs and roof decoration pins. Inside, the original ceiling and joists has have been preserved, decorated with folk motifs of vegetation, animals, and stars.

The structure can be viewed from the outside all year round.

Author of the note Olga Dyba, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Kraków 9/02/2016

Bibliography

• Inwentaryzacja historyczno-urbanistyczna Zakopanego, oprac. Moździerz Z., Dyba O., 1999.
• Długołęcka L., Pinkwart M., Zakopane. Przewodnik historyczny. Warsaw 1988, p. 175.