Wikowicowska Tenement House in Kraków

The Wikowicowska Tenement House, also known as the Lanier House, is a historic building at 29 Grodzka Street in Kraków's Old Town. It was erected in the second half of the 13th century on the site of a levelled defensive rampart of Okół. Originally a single-bay structure, in the 15th century it was expanded into a typical Kraków tenement layout with a maciuch above the passage. At the beginning of the 17th century it underwent a Baroque renovation, which left a portal, three stone pillars between windows (one bearing the hallmark of goldsmith D. Kniper), and a polychrome beam ceiling. From 1628 to 1665 it belonged to the Lanier family, and the name Wikowicowska first appeared in sources in 1720. The building burned down during the great fire of Kraków in 1850 and was rebuilt in 1856 to a design by Ignacy Hercok, gaining a Classicist façade and a third storey. Inside, the Lindquist salon with Baroque decor, known from iconography, was designed. In the early 20th century it housed Wilhelm Krengel's jewellery shop and the Resham Life Insurance Society. In 1908 a robbery on the jeweller's shop made headlines in the local press. Since 1910 the tenement has been municipal property. It was listed as a monument in 1966. Today it is a valuable example of medieval architecture transformed over the centuries, reflecting the history of Kraków.