Szarffenberg Tenement House in Kraków

The Szarffenberg Tenement House is a historic building at 3 Grodzka Street in Kraków, in the Old Town. It was erected in the 14th century and rebuilt at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1570 it was purchased by Mikołaj Szarffenberg, who established a printing house there. Thanks to a privilege granted by King Zygmunt II August, the workshop held the exclusive right to print statutes, parliamentary constitutions, privileges, and other official documents. In 1606 the building and the printing house passed to Mikołaj's son, Jan. In 1623 the tenement was acquired by Stanisław Germański, who ran both a printing house and a bookshop there. The house burned down during the great fire of Kraków in 1850 but was soon rebuilt; its late classical façade dates from that period. In 2015 the building underwent conservation works. It is listed as a historic monument and offers an interesting glimpse into the history of printing and the architecture of Kraków.