Kranichowska Tenement House

Opis

Kranichowska Tenement House stands at the corner of the Old Town Market Square and Zapiecek Street, on the frontage known as the Hugo Kołłątaj side. The building also extends to the addresses Zapiecek 2 and Piwna 32. Conservation records also mention its historical names: Simonettich, Hińczowska, Octabińska and Markiewiczowska.

According to historical sources, a wooden house originally stood here. In the 15th century, a masonry tenement was supposedly built by Michał Kranich, a merchant from Toruń who later became mayor of Warsaw — the popular name Kranichowska comes from his surname. Official Warsaw city-centre materials date the building to before 1495.

In 1666, an owner named Simonetti expanded the tenement — hence its second popular name. Three years later the house is said to have been seriously damaged by fire. A lintel with the date 1666, one of the most interesting details linked to this address, has survived to this day on the Zapiecek side. In the 18th century the house belonged, among others, to the Grotthoff family, and in the mid-19th century it was the tenement house of Maria Stefanowska, inhabited by less affluent Varsovians.

During the destruction of the Old Town in 1944, the building was ruined almost down to the ground floor. It was rebuilt in 1952–1953 to a design by Andrzej Węgrzecki, intended for the then Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs. During reconstruction, the wall of the tenement was moved almost two metres to widen the passage for buses at the outlet of Zapiecek — an interesting example of a compromise between faithful reconstruction and the needs of the post-war city.

The corner of the tenement is recognisable thanks to the clock above the passage towards Zapiecek and the plaque commemorating the reconstruction of the Old Town in 1951–1953. A photograph of the plaque from 1953 is kept in the collections of the Museum of Warsaw. The connection with the postal service has survived to this day — a branch of Poczta Polska operates at Old Town Market Square 15.

Highlights

• Corner of the Market Square, Zapiecek and Piwna streets on the Kołłątaj side.
• Two main historical names: Kranichowska and Simonettich.
• Preserved lintel with the date 1666 on the Zapiecek side.
• Post-war reconstruction 1952–1953 designed by Andrzej Węgrzecki for the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs.
• Wall shifted almost two metres to allow buses to pass.
• Corner clock and plaque commemorating the reconstruction of the Old Town (1951–1953).
• Long-standing links with Poczta Polska — a branch still operates at this address.