In Warsaw’s Wola, today one can find isolated traces of the district’s former buildings, which suffered huge losses during the Second World War. Many of these preserved buildings, although historically priceless, are now in decline. Such is the case with the forgotten tenement house standing at Twarda 62. The building was entered in the register of monuments in 2023, but this has changed little. It is still falling into disrepair and presents a very sad picture of the city’s pre-war heritage.
Twarda 62 and its origins
The tenement at Twarda 62 was built in 1896 on the initiative of Shapsa Kaplan, a Jewish entrepreneur active in the porcelain business. At the beginning of the 20th century, the building was extended. It then gained an elegant staircase leading to flats of a higher standard. The modernised tenement was a typical example of a big bourgeois building of the period, offering comfortable conditions for the tenants. Its history is inextricably intertwined with the fate of the Jewish community of Warsaw, which largely lived in Mirów and Wola.
The building in the shadow of war and political change
In 1940, the building became part of the ghetto. After its borders were changed, the Jews were resettled and Polish families moved into Twarda 62. The building suffered during the fighting of the Warsaw Uprising, but suffered no serious damage and was fit for use. After 1945 and the takeover of the property by the state, it was decided to remove all ornaments and balconies from the façade. As part of a policy of simplification of “bourgeois” architecture, it was adapted to the aesthetic standards in force at the time. No pre-war buildings have survived in the vicinity of the building. Over the decades, blocks of flats have been built on either side, which are set back from the Priest’s tenement. Perhaps the plan was to widen Twarda Street and demolish the building, which remembers the beginning of the 20th century? However, this did not happen and the building has survived in a mutilated state to this day.
Collapse and entry in the register of monuments
In 2012, the property, which had not been renovated for years, was taken out of use due to its poor state of repair. The tenants were moved elsewhere and the pre-war landmark was left at the mercy or disfavour of vandals and natural forces. Despite the progressive, gradual degradation, the tenement house at 62 Twarda Street remains a valuable example of old buildings in this part of the city. For this reason, in May 2023, the Mazovian Provincial Conservator of Monuments entered the front building and the outbuilding in the register of monuments, which only confirms the exceptional historical value of the tenement.
Twarda 62 – pre-war authenticity
Despite the significant impoverishment of the tenement’s façade in the post-war years, the interior of the building still conceals original and priceless design elements. Particularly noteworthy is the front staircase with its wrought-iron balustrade and ceramic tiles on the landings. Some of the flats also have preserved door frames with decorative supraports and one of the ceilings is still decorated with a stucco rosette surrounded by ornament. These details give the townhouse a high level of authenticity and make it worth preserving by all means. Will it live to see a new beginning? Time will tell, but there is not much of it left.
Source: propertydesign.pl, czmurek.com
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Twarda 62 in 1938 and 2025. Source: National Archive in Warsaw and whiteMAD/Mateusz Markowski
