One of the most magnificent tenement houses in Jeżyce is currently undergoing comprehensive renovation. The representative edifice from the beginning of the 20th century will be transformed into an apartment building offering flats of varied size to be arranged in your own way. During the renovation, the façade will also be renewed along with the replacement of window woodwork and the attic will be renovated to accommodate flats of the highest standard. The investment at 17 Kraszewskiego Street, in the heart of one of the most charming districts of Poznań, is managed by the Reforma Nieruchomości office.
The history of the tenement house is strongly linked to the Poznan community of wealthy Jewish families of German origin. The magnificent profitable tenement house was built by Moritz Griess. The design for the new building at 17 Kraszewskiego Street (then Hedwigstrasse) was commissioned to Marin Sonnabend. It was built in 1906, as evidenced by the date on the façade. The building had all the architect’s characteristic features, such as the building had all the architect’s characteristic features, including large, representative windows on all floors, minimalist stucco decoration – window bands, cornices, polygonal panels, restrained architectural detail with divisions marked in the plaster by rustication and lisens, logically located, distinctive main façade elements – oriels, risalits, rectangular balconies with characteristic brick balustrades, mansard roofs with neo-Baroque soft-arched gables, or minimised wall surfaces in favour of numerous glazed areas thanks to the use of modern structural solutions.
The corner, truncated entrance to the commercial premises is clearly reminiscent of Sonnanbend’s almost twin solution used at the same time in the house at 77 Stary Rynek. The building is distinguished by the fact that, unlike most of the neighbouring townhouses, it has no outbuildings. The tenement was constructed as a modern building, with the applied scheme of two flats on each floor with a fully furnished room layout with a central hall, separate rooms and a bathroom and kitchen with a servants’ entrance leading to the rear staircase. The decoration of the hallway and staircase was stylistically consistent, although quite restrained with subtle Art Nouveau painted decoration complemented by terrazzo flooring with a geometric motif.
The tenement remained the property of the Griess until 1910. It was then purchased by another wealthy Jew from Poznan, a certain Edward Briske, who managed it until 1919, when, like many Germans, he left the now Polish city of Poznan. The next owners were a married couple, Maria and Jan Temler from Konstancin near Warsaw. The Poznan property remained in their hands for 26 years until after the war, when in 1954 they sold half of the tenement house to a couple from Poznan – Teresa and Stanislaw Sobierajski. Less than a year later, the other half was purchased from them by the Warsaw entrepreneur Ludwik Cegiełka, but his part was taken over by the City of Poznań shortly afterwards.
Kraszewskiego 17 before and after the ongoing modernisation. Photo: Reforma Nieruchomości and Google Maps
It was not until the mid-1990s that the Sobierajskis bought the other half of the property from the city, thus becoming the sole owners of the building. The tenement remained in the family’s hands for almost 50 years, during which it underwent several renovations and alterations. In 2022, the tenement house was acquired by Reforma Nieruchomość sp. z o.o. for an extensive metamorphosis.
Thanks to the fact that the building has changed owners only a few times over its almost 120-year history, it has avoided a process of neglect or devastation. Luckily, the tenement was not destroyed during the Second World War, and its successive owners consistently took care of its welfare. Its inhabitants were usually wealthy inhabitants of Poznań, which also had an impact on the excellent condition of the monument. The current restoration process therefore does not require complex work to restore the property’s original condition.
In the meticulously renovated and modernised five-storey building, historical details such as stucco, original door woodwork and wooden parquet floors will be preserved. Plaster and all installations will be replaced, and photovoltaics will be installed. The façade will undergo a comprehensive renovation, including the replacement of the windows with wooden windows similar to the historical ones. The façade will also be given a new, elegant colour and the old shapes of the shop windows on the ground floor will be recreated. The hallway and staircase will also undergo a metamorphosis, with Art Nouveau paintings restored.
The building will also have a lift, which future residents will use to get to the upper floors and a completely new attic, which will undergo a comprehensive renovation, including the replacement of roof structural elements and formwork and full thermal insulation. Flats will also be furnished there. They will have balconies, high ceilings, regular windows and will be additionally illuminated by roof windows. They will be the only ones in the Reforma Nieruchomości office’s offer to be finished to developer plus standard. The courtyard will be redecorated and there will be new planting.
Thanks to the Kraszewskiego 17 Jeżyce investment, Jeżyce will gain another gem, which will become a great decoration of the neighbourhood and emphasise the historic character of one of the most beautiful places in the capital of Wielkopolska.
Source: Reforma Nieruchomości
See also: Architecture | Elevation | Tenement | Metamorphosis | Poznań | whiteMAD on Instagram
