This is the oldest brick tenement house on Bródnowska Street in Warsaw. By the decision of Marcin Dawidowicz, the Mazovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments, a tenement house with side outbuildings and the building of the former watchtower at 14 Bródnowska Street in Warsaw has been entered in the register of immovable monuments. This is a unique example of the oldest brick buildings erected in this section of the Praga district at the beginning of the 20th century, which has retained traces of its original splendour for over a hundred years.
The tenement was built at a time when Nowa Praga, which was annexed to Warsaw at the turn of the 20th century, was undergoing dynamic development. Surrounded by wooden cottages and brick factories, the building erected on Bródnowska Street immediately stood out for its compact form and solid material. Situated not at the main building line, but deeper into the property, it gained the character of an enclave of elegance – especially thanks to the single-storey watchtower building, which originally served as a point of contact with the street.
The building in question, with side annexes and the former watchtower building, is an example of the oldest brick buildings erected on Bródnowska Street at the beginning of the 20th century. […] The historical value of the tenement house results from its connection with the Blumtrytt family, owners of the Hosiery and Knitwear Factory in Warsaw,” reads the justification for the decision. Indeed, the Blumtrytt family’s name is permanently inscribed in the history of the building, influencing both its erection and its decades-long industrial history.
The artistic value of the tenement is revealed in the surviving fragments of the façade decoration. The lower storey is decorated with rustication emphasising the massiveness, with balconies and niches with figures of saints above, while rich ornamentation extends to the upper floors and the walls facing the courtyard. This subtle interplay of light and shadow is an excellent example of early 20th century bourgeois classicist design. Equally impressive is the iconographic programme of the staircase – an idyllic plafond with a landscape and medallions with bas-relief angels caring for children.
Particularly noteworthy is the interior of the second-floor flat, which preserves elaborate ceiling mouldings, rosettes, a tiled parquet floor and a monumental tiled cooker with a bas-relief figure scene. This is contrasted by the simplicity and austerity of the side outbuildings, intended for rent – the single flight wooden staircases and clear functional layout emphasise the servile nature of these spaces.
The history of the tenement begins even before 1903, when Konstanty and Urszula Blumtrytt, née Łapińska, purchased the property at Bródnowska Street. Although the author of the design remains unknown, immediately after acquiring the plot, a brick building with two outbuildings and a single-storey watchtower was erected on the street. The architectural concept adopted combined a representative front with functional outbuildings.
Konstanty Blumtrytt (1868-1932) was the owner of the Hosiery Factory, which had been in operation since 1890, and a shareholder in the Fibre Company. In 1908 the tenement was auctioned off by Ivan Kuchar, only to be bought back by the Blumtrytts in 1919. The next instalment of pre-war history was in 1939 – then the owners of the tenement house were a married couple, Zofia née Kowerska and Antoni Rząd, a banker and member of the board of the Bank Towarzystw Spółdzielczych. The plans to erect a four-storey front building over the former watchtower did not come to fruition, and the sale in 1941 sealed this stage in the tenement’s history.
The building escaped serious damage during the Second World War. After 1945, it became the property of the State Treasury. Before 1976, the balcony panels on the first floor were removed, retaining, however, fragments of the original balustrade, and before 2008 the caretaker’s garage was demolished along with the brick fence. In the 1990s part of the green area was replaced by a single-storey outbuilding with tenant cells.
Entry in the register of monuments is not only a formal recognition of the unique historical and artistic value of the tenement, but also the starting point for conservation work to secure its fate. Thanks to the decision of the Mazovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments, it gains the chance to restore the lost details and historical splendour. At the same time, it is becoming a symbol of the transformation of Praga Północ – a testimony to the past, the traces of which are still reflected in the walls of one of the most representative properties in this district.
source: Mazovian Regional Monuments Conservator
photos: WUOZ in Warsaw
Read also: tenement | Warsaw | Interior | Monument | Interior | Detail | whiteMAD on Instagram
