Bonerowski Palace

Story in the residence of the royal banker

Kazimierz Wielki

The history of the palace dates back to the 14th century. It was when King Casimir,known as the Great, ruled at Wawel, that our tenement house was built right next to the market square. Everything was in line with the spirit of those times - after all, Poland was changing from wooden to brick. Interestingly, the brick framing of the entrance gate has been preserved to this day on the rear façade of the building.

Seweryn Bonern

The tenement house owes its current appearance to the Boner family, especially Seweryn Boner, who heads it. This banker and merchant from German Nuremberg, court banker of King Sigismund the Old, but also a city councilor and later the castellan of Żarnowiec, rebuilt the tenement house into his extremely impressive residence. Fragments of the interior design and a fragment of the so-called ceiling come from the 16th century.

Jan Matejko

In the 17th century, changes took place in the tenementhouse at the Main Market Square. During the renovation dating back to 1636, a second floor was added, a side annexe with a chapel was built, and a staircase was constructed in the front building. We know its appearance thanks to drawings by Jan Matejko and Wojciech Gerson. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the building also included a garden.

Ignacy Kregier

The next owner - who influenced the appearance of the tenement house at St. Jana 1 - was Ignacy Krieger. In the 19th century, he was one of the most outstanding Galician photographers. His studio was located here, where he created works - called "landscapes", documenting the appearance of 19th-century Krakow and its inhabitants, subordinates of the then emperor Franz Joseph.

Feliks Jasieński

From the beginning of the 20th century, Feliks "Manggha" Jasieński, an outstanding esthete and art expert, friend of the artists of Young Poland, lived in the tenement house.He is one of the most important collectors in Poland, as well as one of the largest donors to the National Museum in Krakow. His collection of Far Eastern art came straight from the walls of the tenement house to this museum.

Nowadays

The tenement house at Krakow's Market Square owes its current appearance to the patron of art, Wiesław Włodarski. Thanks to him, in 2006 the building was extensively modernized and adapted to serve as a hotel. During the work, special emphasis was placed on preserving the Neo-Renaissance sgraffito decorating the third-floor facade.