Renovation of Kossakówka – family nest of famous Cracovian artists – has begun

The historic Kossakówka manor and park complex will belong to the MOCAK Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow from the end of 2019. The villa building and its surroundings are currently undergoing comprehensive renovation. The Museum’s intention is to create a presentation of the achievements of the Kossak family at this location.The renovation of Kossakówka will restore the building to its former charm

The Kossakówka manor house was purchased in 1869 by the doyen of the family, Juliusz Kossak, who lived there with his wife and five children. The manor was surrounded by a garden, and its location on the outskirts of the city and proximity to the nearby park made it a truly idyllic haven for the artist Kossak. It was here that he created his studio and painted his pictures

Building and garden visualisation by LEM Studio Architektoniczne

Kossakówka was always teeming with life. Until World War II, it was an open house for Krakow’s intelligentsia and artistic circles. In 1884 the villa was taken over from his father by his son Wojciech. From then on, there were two studios of two outstanding Polish painters in Kossakówka. The care of the family nest was taken over by the new Mrs Kossakowa, Maria Wojciechowa, after her grandmother Juliuszowa. Kossakówka thus became the family home for the next generation of this artistic family, Wojciech’s children: Jerzy Kossak, Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska and Magdalena Samozwaniec. In 1942, after Wojciech’s death, his son Jerzy took over the house. After his sisters left, he lived there with his wife and children. After the war, the Kossakówka was in danger of being demolished, but it was saved by the attitude of Jerzy’s wife, who won recognition of the building as a national monument. In 1960, the manor house was entered in the register of historical monuments and was renovated, but that was the end of the state protectorate. In the 1980s it began to deteriorate

Villa Kossakówka in 1936 and 2020. Source: National Digital Archive and photo by Rafał Sosin

The building in 2023 and in the visualisation. Source: Zygmunt Put, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons and LEM Studio Architektoniczne

The contractor for the work is ARCO System. The building is planned to replace all ceilings and level the floors. As there are relatively few original elements remaining in the manor house, it was decided that all remnants of the former furnishings should be saved. As part of the work, secondary partition walls, which have chaotically changed the layout of the rooms, will be removed. The building will receive new window and door joinery based on the historic one, a new façade and roof. The Kossakówka garden will be arranged according to a design based on historical materials and agreed with the Małopolski Provincial Conservator of Monuments

The renovation of the manor house is co-financed by the Municipality of Krakow, the Social Committee for Renovation of Krakow Monuments, the National Fund for Renovation of Krakow Monuments and the Orlen Foundation. The rooms of the renovated Kossakówka will be dedicated to the individual members of the Kossak family who lived in the former villa. In addition to permanent exhibitions presenting the creative achievements of the artistic family, temporary exhibitions will be held in the spaces of the former museum. Readers will have access to a library, the book collection of which is currently being completed. In the emerging branch of MOCAK, extensive educational activities are planned, including guided tours, workshops, museum lessons and meetings

Source: Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow MOCAK

Read also: Architecture | Renovation | City | Krakow | Architecture in Poland | Villas and residences

Subject: Renovation of Kossakówka – the family nest of a famous Krakow family of artists – has started