The Oranowski Tenement, located at the prestigious 6 Krakowskie Przedmieście Street in Warsaw, is a building with a turbulent history. Its history dates back to the 18th century, and the building’s current appearance is the result of post-war reconstruction, during which it was given a form consistent with the neighbouring buildings.
Before the Oranowski House was built, there was a two-storey building on the property, erected before 1770 for Józef Niecieiski. It was a solid brick house that survived for more than a century before it was demolished at the end of the 19th century. In its place, a new, much more imposing tenement was built to meet the growing needs of a developing Warsaw.
The tenement house circa 1904. Source: www.warszawa1939.pl/Wikimedia Commons
The new tenement house was designed by architect Franciszek Brauman for Leonard Oranowski. The building, completed between 1898 and 1899, had four floors and two enclosed courtyards, which was typical of Warsaw tenement houses of the time. Art Nouveau ornaments, such as Ionic columns supporting balconies, richly decorated cornices and decorative turrets on the roof, gave the building an elegant, distinctive appearance. The roof of the building was decorated with railings, which further emphasised its representative character. There is an assumption that part of the walls of the old Niecieiski building were used during the construction of the new tenement, but there is no clear evidence of this.
Oranowski’s tenement in 1937 and the present building. Photo: State Archive in Warsaw and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
During World War II, specifically in 1944, Oranowski’s tenement was severely damaged. The building burned down, but the walls survived and the property was suitable for reconstruction. After the war, however, it was decided that it would not be restored in its original form. This is because the post-war architectural vision for Krakowskie Przedmieście envisaged a different, more coherent and historical style.
The tenement during reconstruction in the late 1940s and the building today. Photo: NAC – National Digital Archive www.nac.gov.pl/ and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
Between 1947 and 1948, a new building was erected on the site of Oranowski’s dilapidated tenement, which loosely followed the style of Joseph Niecieiski’s 18th-century tenement. However, it was not a full reconstruction, but rather a building inspired by the former design. The new building is two or three storeys high, depending on which side you look at it from – it has two storeys from the street and three storeys from the courtyard.
Although the post-war building differs significantly from its predecessor, several original elements have been retained, such as the gate passage. Fragments of the pre-war décor can still be seen in it today, including yellow floor tiles, wrought iron decorative gates and bumpers.
Source: lapidarium.fundacja-hereditas.pl, warszawa1939.pl
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