Krakow’s Market Square is surrounded by townhouses with an extremely rich history and fabulously varied architecture. Many were built as early as the Middle Ages, and over the following centuries they were rebuilt many times, changing their functions and appearance. One of the most recognisable among them is the Hetmanska tenement house, also known as the Old Mint, which has accompanied the history of the city since the 13th century.
The Hetman’s House – origins and medieval development
The oldest fragments of the Hetmanska tenement house walls date back to the end of the 13th century. In the first half of the 14th century a significant part of the front walls were erected, and around 1370 a major reconstruction began. At that time, a forecourt was created on the Market Square side and spacious rooms were created inside. In the ground floor, today constituting the basement, there was a hall supported by four pillars, and above that a representative hall decorated with carved keystones with effigies of Casimir the Great and his sister Elżbieta Łokietkówna and the coats of arms of the Crown lands. The layout and size of the building indicate that it may have served as a royal town residence. In the 15th century, the tenement was raised by an additional storey.
Owners and name of the Old Mint
At the turn of the 15th century the building passed from royal to private hands. In the 16th century, its owners were the Beers, leaseholders of the silver mines in Olkusz. Kasper Beer had the privilege of minting coinage, which gave rise to the name Old Mint. After the mint was moved to another building, the building already served primarily residential and representative functions.
Baroque rebuilding and the Branicki family
In the middle of the 17th century, the tenement house was acquired by the Sandomierz voivode Krzysztof Ossoliński and rebuilt in the early Baroque style. From 1659, the building was in the hands of the Branickis. In the 18th century, Grand Hetman of the Crown Jan Klemens Branicki commissioned further modernisations according to the designs of Jan Zygmunt Deybel and Jan Henryk Klemm. During this period, the tenement received a striking attic with the Gryf coat of arms, which was reconstructed in the 20th century. The name of the tenement, which is still used today, derives from Branicki’s surname.
Hetmańska Tenement House – 19th century
After the fall of the Republic, the tenement fell into disrepair. In 1816, it was purchased by Anzelm Teodor Dzwonkowski and thoroughly renovated. In the middle of the century, the building suffered in the great fire of Krakow. During the reconstruction, an additional floor was added, designed by Feliks Radwański, which completely obliterated the building’s former form. In the 19th century, the building served various functions, housing, among others, the editorial office of Krakow’s first daily newspaper “Czas” and the flats of well-known personalities, including the president of Krakow Józef Dietl.
Renovations to the Hetmanska tenement in the 20th century
During the partitions, the tenement was used by the Austrian military. In the second half of the 20th century, it underwent a major renovation combined with an attempt to restore its 18th century appearance. In the 1970s it was joined with the neighbouring buildings at 15 and 16 Market Square. Today, the façade of the tenement, with its Baroque portal and restored attic, is one of the most recognisable landmarks of Krakow’s Market Square.
The Hetmanska Tenement House in Kraków today
The most valuable element of the tenement house today remains the Gothic hall with heraldic decoration and royal portraits. On the ground floor, a fragment of a wooden ceiling with a beam finished with carved half figures has been preserved. Currently, the interiors are used for commercial purposes. Among others, the Grey Goose restaurant and other establishments operate here.
Source: zabytek.pl
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Ground floor of the tenement at the beginning of the 20th century and today. Source: National Archive in Krakow and Eugeniusz S./fotopolska.eu
Portal of the tenement in 1911 and 2013. Source: Warsaw University of Technology Digital Library and Ludvig14, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hall in the ground floor of the Hetman building, 1970 and present. Source: “Architektura gotycka w Polsce” edited by Teresa Mroczko and Marian Arszyński, Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences – Warsaw 1995 and Konarski, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Hetmanska Tenement House in 1959 and 2022. Source: zabytek.co.uk/green monument card and Google Maps
