Konopacki Palace in Warsaw, Historical palace in Praga Północ district, Warsaw, Poland
The Konopacki Palace at 11/13 Strzelecka Street is a rectangular brick building with small annexes on its rear and north side. Its eleven-axis facade faces Środkowa Street, and the original window surrounds, moulded cornices and two cast-iron balconies survive on the Środkowa and Strzelecka elevations. Despite its decorative form, the interiors were those of an ordinary dwelling.
The building was erected in the 1860s for Ksawery Konopacki, founder of Nowa Praga, possibly to a design by Aleksander Woyde. From 1881 it belonged to retired Russian general Agafon Wachwachow, then to the firm of Jewish entrepreneurs Endelman and Papierny. In 1924 the city bought the whole property between Środkowa and Kowelska streets to build primary school no. 89 at Kowelska 1. The palace and its surroundings were entered in the monument register in May 2005.
The building is called a "pałacyk" because of its ornate facade, though its interiors were those of an ordinary dwelling; Ksawery Konopacki lived there with his family and probably rented out the remaining rooms. Since 2021 it has been the second seat of the Dom Kultury "Praga" cultural centre. In the building opposite, at 8 Strzelecka Street, the NKVD ran an investigation unit, and traces in the cellars confirm their use as prison cells in 1944–1948.
The building stands at Strzelecka 11/13, with its eleven-axis facade facing Środkowa Street. After the renovation finished at the end of 2020, it reopened in 2021 as the second seat of Dom Kultury "Praga". Look for the preserved window surrounds, moulded cornices and two cast-iron balconies on the Środkowa and Strzelecka elevations.
In the basements of the building at 8 Strzelecka Street, across the intersection, traces survive of the NKVD investigative unit that used them as prison cells between 1944 and 1948. In 2006 district councillors proposed housing the Museum of Warsaw's Praga here, but it went to Targowa Street instead.
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