History

The townhouse was built around the 1st quarter of the 17th century. Initially, it was a one-storey, two- or three-bay house with a wide entrance hall on the right. At the end of the 17th century, the house was enlarged and the first floor was added. In 1773, the house was damaged by a fire. Before 1788, the house was owned by the Biernacki family, after 1788 by Żardecka, from 1877 it was jointly owned by the Bałaszkiewicz family, from 1897 it belonged to the Julender family, and since 1956 it has belonged to the municipality. At the end of the 19th century, the second floor was added. At the beginning of the 20th century, the third floor was added. Between 1937 and 38, a major restoration project was carried out under the direction of T. Zaremba. This was followed by another restoration in 1956. Between 1976-1981, the house was thoroughly restored according to A. Misiorowski’s design. During that restoration, the third floor was demolished in 1976. In 1999, the façade was renovated.

Description

The townhouse is situated at the centre of the Old Town, in the southern part of the western frontage of the Great Market Square. It is a corner house. From the north, it adjoins the townhouse at No. 3 Rynek Wielki. From the west, it adjoins the townhouse at No. 14 Kolegiacka Street. Its market-facing front elevation is oriented eastward. The house was erected on a floor plan of an elongated rectangle with a two-section arcade on the ground floor. It follows a two-bay and two-partite design, with a wide entrance hall, originally placed in the northern bay, connected from the west with a very elongated one-bay outbuilding, with a staircase in the north-west corner of the hall. The structure has been completely altered as a result of numerous reconstructions, affecting the layout of rooms on the upper storeys. The townhouse is made of bricks and covered with plaster. It has a three-storey main body and a two-storey outbuilding, with cellars underneath. The main body is covered with a three-slope roof, whereas the outbuilding is covered with a gable roof with dormer windows. The roof has sheet-metal cladding. Three-storey elevations. The façade is symmetrical. Its first storey is two-axial and the upper storeys are three-axial. On the ground floor, there is a two-section arcade and a corner buttress.

The entrance is placed in a rectangular portal with a lintel and a transom. There are two shell cartouches on both sides of the portal. The window has a rectangular surround and a parapet. The façade is divided horizontally by: a smooth frieze between the first and second storeys, a prominent cornice between the second and third storeys and a poorly articulated crowning cornice. Above the cornice, there is a smooth strip of the attic. The façade is divided vertically by 5 pseudo-pilasters, two large window openings on the second floor, three smaller windows on the third floor and an arcaded niche between the windows on the second floor. The southern side elevation is irregular, biaxial, with remnants of a frieze that used to span two axes between the first and second storeys, a prominent cornice between the second and third storeys and a poorly formed crowning cornice. Above the cornice, there is a smooth strip of the attic. The side elevations are divided vertically by windows and pseudo-pilasters. The back elevation is three-storey, uniaxial with rectangular windows and a poorly articulated crowning cornice. The façade of the outbuilding faces south and has two storeys and 6 axes, with rectangular window openings. It is flat and does not have any vertical and horizontal divisions. It is topped with a poorly articulated crowning cornice. The back elevation of the outbuilding is three-storey and 3-axial, with rectangular window openings in the second storey and square window openings in the third storey, without any vertical and horizontal divisions. It is topped with a poorly articulated crowning cornice. In the cellars of the townhouse, as well as in its arcades and in the vestibule, there are cross-barrel vaults. The remaining storeys are covered with a flat ceiling. 

Access to the site is limited.

compiled by Ewa Prusicka, Regional Branch Office of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Lublin,20 November 2016

Bibliography

• Baranowska Z., Sygietyńska H., Kamienice rynku zamojskiego w XVII wieku, /in:/ Zamość i Zamojszczyzna w dziejach i kulturze polskiej, Zamość 1969.
• Czterysta lat Zamościa, J. Kowalczyk (ed.), Wrocław-Łódź 1983
• Herbst S., Zamość, Warsaw 1954
• Kędziora A., Dawna architektura i budownictwo Zamościa, Zamość 1990
• Kowalczyk J., Zamość. Przewodnik, Warsaw 1975.
• Pawlicki M. B., Kamienice mieszczańskie Zamościa. Problemy ochrony, Krakow 1999.
• Zarębska T., Zamość – Miasto idealne i jego realizacja, /in:/ Zamość miasto idealne, ed. J. Kowalczyka, Lublin 1980 
• Record sheet, Residential House  Rynek Wielki 1, formerly Pl. Mickiewicza 1, Zamość, compiled by M. Kowalczyk, L. Lameński, 1997, Archives of the Voivodeship Office for the Protection of Historic Monuments in Lublin, Branch Office in Zamość and the Archives of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Warsaw.