History

The villa was built in 1904 for Engineer Józef Pętkowski. It was designed by the architect Feliks Nowicki. In 1914, Pętkowski left Piotrków and the villa became the seat of the Central Recruitment Office of the Polish Legions.

In 1920, the building was bought by the Workers’ Association “People’s House”. The building served as the seat of the Workers’ Association until 1935. In the same year, the association was dissolved due to its poor financial situation. The villa was bought by the National Defence Fund, but it was used by the Polish army for only a short period in 1939. During the war, the villa served as the headquarters of Gestapo. There was a prison in its cellar.

After the war, the villa was again transferred to the army. It housed the military headquarters and the offices of the Army Recruiting Command (WKU). Today, the villa is used as a private residential building.

Description

The land plot occupied by the villa is situated in the quarter between the following streets: Dąbrowskiego, gen. Roweckiego-Grota, H. Sienkiewicza and J. Słowackiego. It is included in the eastern frontage of Dąbrowskiego Street and is positioned centrally in a fenced area. The street-facing fence is Art Nouveau in style. Its sections are made from brick posts and stylish metal lattice.

The structure of the villa has retained its 19th-century character. The ornamentation of the front elevation represents the Art Nouveau style. The rear elevation, on the other hand, is decorated with modest Classicist details.

The villa is built on a floor plan of a rectangle with a two-bay interior layout. In the north-east and north-west corners, there are rectangular arcades. The front elevation is preceded by a rectangular terrace placed between the avant-corpses. The main entrance was placed in the front - western elevation.

The building has two storeys and a cellar. It was designed with two avant-corpses in the front elevation, whose walls are slightly tapering upwards, and with corner arcades supported on single pillars, balconies and loggias on the first floor, as well as low gables above the avant-corpses. As a result, a clearly defined structure with distinctive component parts was obtained. The building is covered with a low four-hipped roof. The avant-corpses are clad with gable roofs.

The villa is made of brick laid with cement-lime mortar. It is plastered and painted. The stucco decorations are made of cement and plaster.

The cellars have segmental vaults. The ceilings are made of wood. In the hall and in the lounge, the joists are based on pillars and columns. The ceilings are plastered. On the ground floor, there are stuccoed ceilings. The roof truss is made of wood. The roof is clad with bituminous felt on a timber deck The villa has terrazzo floors, ceramic tile floors (hall), plank floors and herringbone parquet (lounge). The external stairs are made of brick, with terrazzo steps, fitted with low balustrades ending with scroll-like ornaments, one-flight, free-standing, with landings, straight or curved. Internal stairs in the hall – three-flight, with landings, brick, with a decorative metal railing, partially wrought. There are also wooden winder stairs leading to the cellars.

The front door and the doors in the arcaded corners are two-wing, frame-panelled, glazed at the top, with a transom light topped with a flattened arch. There are also doors in corner arcades. The internal doors are one- and two-wing, glazed or solid. The windows are jambed, double-wing, with a transom light topped with a basket-handle arch. The other windows have one wing and a transom light. The windows on the ground floor are barred.

The elevations are two-storey, set on a plinth, topped with a prominent cornice based on brackets, smoothly plastered.

The front - western elevation is multi-axial, asymmetrical, with two avant-corpses of different widths – the northern one, placed next to the corner arcade, is narrower and the southern one is wider. The entrance opening in the northern avant-corps is topped with a flattened arch. Above, there are two narrow, rectangular window openings separated by a pillar, topped with a flattened arch. The corners of the avant-corps are supported by pilaster strips, tapering downwards, interspaced by the dividing cornice which is positioned under the crowning cornice, the latter being decorated with rosettes. The top of the avant-corps is decorated with a figure of a woman in flowing robes, set on a plinth. In the southern avant-corps, on the ground level storey, there are three axes (accented by the window openings framed by circular surrounds.) The central opening is wider, with a flattened arch at the top, with a distinctive transom light, flanked by columns. The side windows are kidney-shaped. On the first floor, there are three window openings. The middle one is wider, rectangular, flanked by a pair of columns. The side windows are narrower, rounded at the bottom. Above the cornice, there is a triangular gable topped with a circular clearance with corner volutes and a plaque with the name of the villa written in Art Nouveau letters “WANDA”. The corners of the avant-corps are supported by pilaster strips. Between the avant-corpses on the ground floor, there is a pair of arched openings – a window opening and a port-fenêtre, preceded by a terrace with a balustrade consisting of brick posts. Above, there are three axes accented by the window openings. The central one has two wings and is topped with a basket-handle arch. It is flanked by a pair of columns. The openings furthest away from the centre are narrow and topped with a segment of a circle. In the north-west corner, on the ground floor, there is a pillared arcade with an asymmetrical arch at the front. Curved winder stairs provide access to the terrace. In the arcade, there is a pair of narrow openings – a window and a door leading to the hall. On the first floor, there is a rectangular terrace with an openwork balustrade. The window there is wide, tripartite, divided by a pair of lower pilasters, topped with a segment of a circle. The elevation is crowned with a prominent corbelled cornice.

The eastern elevation is eight-axial. The openings have flat-arched tops. The three-axial southern part is divided by pilasters on both storeys. The central, wider openings are flanked by two narrower openings on the ground floor and by narrower decorative panels on the first floor. Access to the terrace on the ground floor is provided via curved winder stairs consisting of several steps. The balustrade rests on brick posts. On the first floor, there is an openwork balustrade, identical to the one at the front.

The southern elevation is asymmetric with two centrally positioned window axes. The windows are identical to those on the east side. The corner part of the east-facing elevation on the first floor is separated by a pilaster strips and adorned with a rosette under the cornice. In the eastern part, there is a small, rectangular window opening. The elevation is crowned with a prominent cornice.

The northern elevation has no openings. It is topped with a prominent cornice. There are arcades in the corners.

Inside, stuccoed ceilings have been preserved in the rooms on the ground floor. There are also stucco decorations in the lounge. Flower flagella adorn sections of the ceiling, in the middle of which there is a rosette The hall is embellished with flat plant decorations. The floor in the hall is made from ceramic tiles bordered with a colourful, Art Nouveau pattern of water lilies.

The building is not accessible to the public.

Compiled by Agnieszka Lorenc-Karczewska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź, 7 April 2020

Bibliography

• Głowacki K., Urbanistyka Piotrkowa Trybunalskiego, Piotrków Trybunalski - Kielce 1984.