Krasinski House: monumental Warsaw architecture from the early 20th century

The Krasiński tenement house, also known as the Heurichowska tenement house or the Raczyński tenement house, towers proudly over Plac Stanisława Małachowskiego, on the corner of Traugutta Street in Warsaw. Although the building was erected more than a century ago, and its history has not been short of moments in which it came close to destruction, it still stands and arouses the admiration of tourists and residents of the capital

On the site of the present building, in 1848 the Krasiński count family built a tenement house according to a design by the architect Franciszek Maria Lancie. When the palace of the Warsaw banker Kronenberg was built on the neighbouring property, which considerably outclassed their townhouse, they decided at the beginning of the 20th century to demolish the Lancie building and replace it with a representative house housing the library and art collections of the Krasiński family. The architect Jan Heurich was entrusted with the design. During its construction, however, the building was sold to Count Edward Raczynski, who changed its purpose to a representative tenement house

The tenement house today. Source: whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski

Between 1907 and 1910, an early modern building with neo-classical decoration in the type of decor of Petersburg tenements was erected, with six high storeys with a basement, a massive attic and an additional seventh storey with windows incorporated into a frieze under the crowning cornice. The richly glazed ground floor of the building housed shop units. The building was attached to the southern gable wall of the Kronenberg palace and was much higher than the original owners wanted. The building served its purpose until 1939, when it was burnt down by the Germans. It was rebuilt in the years 1949-1950 according to a design by Bohdan Pniewski, to serve as the headquarters of the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs (since 11 March 1955 transformed into the Ministry of Communications). As part of the reconstruction, the shopfronts of the ground and first floors were removed and replaced with classical windows, and the volume of the building was enlarged by adding a wing from Traugutta Street

Krasiński House in 1912 and 2023. Source: Mazovia Digital Library and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski

A fragment of the building in 1912 and 2023. Source: Mazovia Digital Library and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski

The building, which had been occupied for decades for ministerial purposes, was sold to Hochtief Development Polska, which began redeveloping and adapting the building into a luxury office building in 2011. The works included a new wing, whose architecture is modern but corresponds to the historic building. The historic front has been meticulously restored, including the restoration of the pre-war glass storefronts, which were walled up in the 1940s. Today, the Krasińskich Tenement House once again dazzles and is an excellent example of monumental Warsaw architecture of the early 20th century

Source: polskaniezwykla .pl, polacyzwyboru.pl

Read also: Architecture | Tenement | Secession | City | Warsaw | Architecture in Poland