Willa Granzowa, Historic brick factory complex in Kawęczyn district, Warsaw, Poland.
Kawęczyńskie Zakłady Cegielniane Kazimierza Granzowa was a brickworks founded in 1866 by Kazimierz Granzow on a 63-hectare estate at ul. Chełmżyńska. Its eclectic administration villa, built around 1895, had a corner tower and a facade of yellow facing brick with geometric patterns, using tiles, ventilation ducts and bricks from the factory itself. The works were destroyed in 1939; the villa survived until its demolition in 2014.
Kazimierz Granzow founded the brickworks in 1866 on 63 hectares of clay-rich land outside Warsaw, after buying the estate from the Olędzki family in 1863. The factory was destroyed in the 1939 bombing of Warsaw. The villa, built around 1895 at Chełmżyńska 165, survived the war and later housed a school, a kindergarten and a social therapy centre. In 1991 it returned to the company, which went bankrupt shortly afterwards.
The villa's nickname, "Grancówka", comes from the surname of its builder, Kazimierz Granzow. Its eclectic facade with neo-Gothic elements was clad in yellow facing brick decorated with geometric patterns, and the roof used the highest-quality tiles from the Kawęczyn works. The building thus served as a showpiece advertising the company's products to clients.
The site is located in the Rembertów area at Chełmżyńska 165, making it relatively accessible thanks to proximity to public transport. Visitors should know that the original structure no longer exists since it was demolished years later.
The villa was officially registered as a Polish cultural heritage site in 1989, yet it faced significant deterioration in the following decades. Its eventual demolition in 2014 highlighted the ongoing challenge of preserving industrial buildings in rapidly changing cities.
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