The tenement house located at 3 Lwowska Street in Warsaw, built in 1911 for Salomon Peretz, is an example of early modern bourgeois architecture. Together with its twin, standing at 4 Noakowskiego Street, they form a harmonious whole, although they differ in details. The design of the buildings was made by the well-known architects Henryk Stifelman and Stanisław Weiss.
Henryk Stifelman and Stanisław Weiss were the authors of designs for several Warsaw tenements, including those at Polna 50 and 52, Bagatela 13 and 15, Jagiellońska 28 and Litewska 3. Stifelman, known for his social activism and cooperation with Janusz Korczak, brought a unique style and elegance to these buildings.
3 Lwowska Street has a rather complex structure, consisting of a front building connected to perpendicular outbuildings. This building is characterised by a reinforced concrete structure filled with bricks and fireproof ceilings. The front elevation is almost entirely rusticated and its central part consists of two symmetrical bays, where each is decorated with protruding balcony loggias. The front is additionally decorated with an oriel window located on its right side. The building is distinguished by a wealth of architectural details such as triangular gables, pilasters, decorative balcony balustrades with panels decorated with masks, garlands and ornaments. Also of value are the wall polychromes inside, which, although fragmentary, were exposed and protected in their original form during the restoration carried out a decade ago.
The interiors of the townhouse have retained many of the original period décor elements. The kitchen staircase has fully retained its original decoration, although some details have been damaged by years of use. The gate passage and the main staircase are distinguished by beautifully restored elements such as chamfered glass in the entrance door and decorative terracotta and marble floors. The building on Lwowska 3 also has a rich history related to the Second World War. In 1940, after a Gestapo officer was killed during an attempt to arrest members of the Komenda Obrońców Polski, the Germans carried out mass arrests among the inhabitants of the houses at Noakowskiego 4 and Lwowska 1 and 3.
The tenement at 3 Lwowska Street is an exceptional example of early modern architecture in Warsaw, which impresses both with its wealth of architectural detail and its history. Despite the many difficulties associated with its restoration and maintenance, this tenement is still a pearl of Warsaw architecture and a testimony to the city’s rich history.
Source: nepomuki.pl, lapidarium.fundacja-hereditas.pl
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