The tenement house at 11 Ułańska Street in Gdańsk’s Dolne Miasto district has regained its long-lost splendour. Following a thorough renovation carried out by Gdańskie Nieruchomości, its elegant façades, wooden staircases and murals in the gateway are a delight to behold. The work on the over 100-year-old building cost nearly 8.9 million zlotys gross.
Ułańska 11 survived the war and the demolitions
The tenement house was built between 1880 and 1900, during a period of rapid industrial development in Dolne Miasto. The flats here were rented primarily by workers, craftsmen and employees of nearby military institutions. The building, together with its outbuilding, survived the Second World War without major damage, but subsequent development projects related to transport infrastructure significantly altered its surroundings. In the early 1990s, the neighbouring three-storey building, which probably enclosed a shared courtyard, was demolished. Ułańska 11 remained one of the few remaining traces of the area’s former buildings. In March 2022, the tenement house and its outbuilding were entered in the register of historic monuments.
An impressive tenement house with brick ornamentation
The building features historicist architecture, drawing on several different styles. The main body has four storeys and a usable attic, with a lower wing adjoining it on the south side. The façade is adorned with ceramic window frames, decorative cornices and a mansard roof with two dormers. The red brickwork was originally complemented by patches of warm-grey plaster, only fragments of which remained prior to the renovation. The gateway conceals some exceptionally interesting decoration: plant motifs, star-shaped designs and a radiating rosette adorn the ceiling and the upper sections of the walls. The painted tools most likely refer to craft guilds – their presumed connection to Freemasonry has not been confirmed.
11 Ułańska Street was in need of a thorough renovation
Before work began, water was seeping into the building’s cellars, the roof was leaking, and the bricks and plaster were deteriorating due to the damp. Furthermore, the wooden steps were worn, the ceramic decorations were incomplete, and the murals in the gateway were cracking and flaking off. The renovation, which took several months, covered the foundations, walls, ceilings, roof and interiors. As part of this, the façades, joinery, surviving elements of the staircase and the polychrome decorations on the gateway were restored. The scope of the works also included the laying of ceramic roof tiles on the steep slopes, the reconstruction of the roof ornaments and the stone parapets by the gateway. In addition, all services were replaced and a new heating substation was installed. The modernisation of the interiors also involved the demolition of non-functional tiled stoves, although the most interesting ones were preserved. The renovated building continues to serve its residents. It comprises 13 council flats ranging in size from approximately 30 to 54 square metres, as well as two commercial premises measuring 57.56 and 27.09 square metres.
A listed building following works costing nearly 8.9 million zł
Work began on 17 March 2025, and the city announced its completion on 10 September 2026. The project was managed by Gdańskie Nieruchomości, with Przedsiębiorstwo Ecozet Mirosław Zblewski acting as the contractor, whilst the documentation was prepared by the Make Architekci practice. The gross contract value was exactly 8,892,533.10 zł.
Source:Gdańskie Nieruchomości
See also:Architecture in Poland|Metamorphosis|Renovation|History|Gdańsk
