After the oldest tenement house in Warsaw's Wola district was removed from the register of monuments, the Masovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments initiated administrative proceedings to enter the relics of the tenement house at Łucka 8 in the register of monuments. Until the procedure is completed, the building is under temporary protection.
The application for entry into the register of monuments of the tenement house at 8 Łucka Street was submitted by the organizations “Masław” Association and the Defenders of Warsaw Monuments, as well as the mayor of the Wola district and the director of the Office of the Capital Conservator of Monuments.
“The ongoing proceedings aim to assess whether, in the current state of preservation, the remains of the tenement house can be covered by separate conservation protection, including the facades and the gate passage, even though the building, as a work of architecture and construction, was removed from the register of monuments by the decision of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of on October 9, 2024,” the Masovian Provincial Conservator of Monuments announced on social media.
The conservation proceedings will analyze the historic values of the building's relics and the possibility of their permanent preservation. Until the procedure is completed, the building is under temporary protection.
“We are pleased with the very quick response”
“We are pleased with the very quick response to our applications (…) Such action formally suspends any changes to the status of the tenement house,” the Wola district office noted in a statement. “In our opinion, the application to enter the tenement house walls into the register of monuments will allow us to protect a place that still has significant scientific and historical value. Importantly, the tenement house at ul. Łucka 8 is still entered in the municipal register of monuments,” he added.
Wola officials assured that they will do everything they can to ensure that the oldest building in Wola survives.
The oldest tenement house in Wola
The building at Łucka Street is the oldest tenement house in Wola. The history of Abram Włodawer's tenement house dates back to the 1870s. It was built in 1878 and survived World War II.
The tenement house has been on the register of monuments since 1992. The entry theoretically obliged the owner to take care of its condition, keep historic elements unchanged and carry out regular conservation works. In 2012, it was returned to the heirs of the former owners, then it was taken over by a private company.
The tenement house burned down many times, in 2015 – 9 times, and in 2016 – 6 times. Due to numerous doubts of the residents as to the correctness of the owners' care of the monument, in 2020 the district authorities reported the case to the prosecutor's office. In April 2020, the tenement annex was demolished, despite the objection of the conservator.
The developer applied to the Ministry of Culture to remove the tenement house from the register due to its deteriorating condition. After the last judgment of the Provincial Administrative Court, declaring the loss of the historic value of the facility, the ministry was forced to remove the facility from the register. This occurred on October 9, 2024.
Main photo source: Artur Węgrzynowicz/tvnwarszawa.pl