Renaissance tenement houses in Tarnów
ul. Rynek, 33-100 Tarnów
Tourist region: Tarnów i okolice
Although the buildings in the market square were destroyed by fires that plagued the city from the end of the 15th century, the most valuable Renaissance arcaded houses from the 16th century have been preserved in the northern frontage of the market square. The three most representative ones were erected in the 16th century as one-storey buildings with arcades, topped with attics. They are houses number 19, 20 and 21 on the market square. The latter two currently house the Regional Museum in Tarnów. One of the oldest tenement houses is the Nicholas House (Dom Mikołajowski) located at 6 Katedralny Square. The building, situated in a high-density housing development, is characterised by the original Renaissance stonework of the window openings and sgraffito decoration, characteristic of that period. Currently, the building is a part of the Diocesan Museum.
Another noteworthy building is the Florentine House located at 20 Żydowska St. The one-storey building with a usable attic is covered by a gabled roof with ceramic tiles. The house was probably built in the 16th century as a result of the merger of two buildings attached to the fortification wall. Currently, it houses the headquarters of Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society (PTTK).
Tarnów's market square is a Renaissance gem with a beautiful architectural layout and valuable buildings, laid out when the city was founded in the 14th century. Today, it is surrounded by burgher houses dating from the 16th to the 19th century. The original wooden buildings around the market square were destroyed by successive fires that struck the city at the end of the 15th century, and it was then that the first brick houses were erected. In the 17th–19th centuries, the town repeatedly burned down, and after the fires, modest tenement houses of the late baroque and classicist style were slowly rebuilt; some of the arcades were demolished or bricked up, but they were preserved in the three tenement houses of the northern frontage. Nowadays, mostly two-storey houses of various architectural styles can be found around the market square. The most valuable Renaissance arcaded houses from the 16th century have been preserved in the northern frontage. Two of them house the exhibition of the Museum of the History of Tarnów and the Tarnów Region, a branch of the District Museum in Tarnów (20-21 Rynek Street). They are one-storey buildings with two-span arcades protruding in front of the line of buildings, with a front elevation topped with a decorative attic reconstructed in 1946–1947, an interesting painting decoration of the façade and antique stone window frames and portals. Renaissance polychromes can be found in the interiors, which were interconnected in 1780. The buildings on the western frontage are also of interest.