The early modern building of the Central Agricultural Society in Warsaw. Its interior is decorated with stone mosaics

The building at 30 Kopernika Street was constructed at the beginning of the 20th century as the headquarters for the newly established structure called the Central Agricultural Society. The six-storey building was erected in the style of early modernism. It was designed by a duo of architects: Czesław Przybylski with the collaboration of Alfons Gravier.

After the establishment of the Central Agricultural Society in 1907. Central Agricultural Society, it was decided to choose Warsaw as the city in which to house the organisation’s main building. For its needs, a striking new building was constructed on Kopernika Street between 1911 and 1912. The modernist building received a rich sculptural decoration by Zygmunt Otto and Józef Gardecki, with the sculpture of the Sower as its main element.

A characteristic detail is the high stone portal with the main entrance, above which is a balcony decorated with sculptures. The tenement was damaged during the Second World War, but was rebuilt in 1947-1948 for the headquarters of the Agricultural Cooperative “Samopomoc Chłopska”. The dormer windows in the attic and the sculptural group formerly crowning the top of the edifice were not restored on this occasion. The rest of the façade has been restored in an essentially unchanged form. The stone elements decorating the façade have been preserved, as well as the metal gates leading to the courtyard and inside the building.

Kopernika Street in the late 1940s and today. Source: NAC – National Digital Archive www.nac.gov.pl/ and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski

The Central Agricultural Society building in 2014 and 2024. Source: may/photopolska.eu, Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0 and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski

The interiors were not spared destruction either. Their rather sparing decorations were made after the war. Particularly noteworthy is the abstract mosaic adorning the main wall opposite the main entrance and the ornate staircase, also enriched with stone mosaics and an intricately wrought balustrade. A commemorative plaque dedicated to Tadeusz Janczyk, founder of the ‘Samopomoc Chłopska’ agricultural cooperative, was placed on the wall in the lobby. In 1965, the building was entered in the register of historical monuments. A few years ago, the façade was renovated, during which the soiled stone cladding was cleaned.

Source: polskaniezwykla.pl, warszawskie-mozaiki.pl

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