Sikorski’s palace, also known as Borman’s palace or Heurteux’s palace, is a small Neo-Renaissance building located in Warsaw’s Wola district, surrounded by the high buildings of the “Srebrna” estate. It was erected in the second half of the nineteenth century for the well-known Warsaw stone sculptor Aleksander Sikorski. Currently, the building houses the Wola Museum.
In 1877, the land on this site was bought by the sculptor Aleksander Sikorski. Three years later, he built a palace for himself and his family, placing a stone workshop next to it. The building was two-storey, designed on a rectangular plan. The front side featured a portico supported by four columns.
Sikorski died a year after the building was completed. His children, who inherited the property and buildings, sold them after a few years to another stonemasonry firm called “Wiktor Heurteux and Józef Norblin” (from 1884 “Wiktor Heurteux and Jan Lilpop”). In 1895, the property was bought by Maurycy Borman (co-owner of the company “Borman and Szwede”).
The Heurteux family on the steps of the palace at the end of the 19th century and the same place today. Photo: Museum of Warsaw and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
In 1937, the palace and other buildings were auctioned off to the State Treasury and are still owned by the City of Warsaw. Between 1937 and 1944, the Third Municipal Health Centre, directed by Dr Altenberger, was located here. During the occupation, a sanitary post was located in the basement. During the Warsaw Uprising, the building was an outpost of the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion of the “Chrobry II” Home Army Group.
December 1938 (the opening ceremony of the Health Centre) and May 2024. Source: NAC – National Digital Archives www.nac.gov.pl/ and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
From the end of the war and reconstruction from destruction until 1973, it housed the headquarters of the RSW (“Prasa-Książka-Ruch”). In 1965, the building was entered in the register of historical monuments. The palace was rebuilt in 1974 according to a design by Zygmunt Łuszczyński. Since that year, it has housed the Wola Museum – a branch of the Museum of Warsaw – and the Wola Friends Association.
Sikorskiego Palace in 1973 and 2024. Photo: Tygodnik Stolica no. 31 (1339) 05.08.1973 and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Sikorski Palace in 1982 and 2024. photo Tygodnik Stolica no. 7 (1780) 02.05.1982 and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
The palace underwent a refurbishment between 2016 and 2019, involving the renovation of the façade, the redesign of the exhibition and office spaces inside the building, and the adaptation of the building for people with reduced mobility. A permanent feature of the museum’s exhibition is the Wolski Cabinet. It is an exhibition that tells the story of the district. It consists of selected photographs, museum objects, archives and other artefacts. It illustrates the history of Wola from medieval times to the present day, including the district’s industrial heritage or the area’s role in the election of Polish kings.
Source: muzeumwoli.muzeumwarszawy.pl, przewodnik.wola.waw.pl
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