Villa Koliba – Zakopane, Poland - Atlas Obscura

Villa Koliba

Zakopane, Poland

 

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Villa Koliba is recognised as the first building designed in the Zacopane Style of architecture.

Zakopane Style architecture ( also called Witkiewicz Style architecture) is an architectural style inspired by the regional art of Poland’s highland region known as Podhale. It is said to have been inspired by  building traditions in the Carpathian Mountains and was originally created by Lithuanean designer  Stanislaw Witkiewicz.

As the Podhale region developed its  tourist trade in the 1800s, the population of  the town of Zakopane increased and initially the new buildings were built in the style of Swiss and later Austro-Hungarian chalets. This part of Poland was at one time ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire from where many of the owners of the new buildings had come.

When architect Stanislaw Witkiewicz, was chosen to design an important villa in the town he rejected the foreign styles  plans and instead chose to utilize the local traditions but incorporated into his design a lot of Art Nouveau influence. This was the origin of  the “Zakopane Style” and the building, known as the Villa “Koliba” was built between 1892 and 1894, and it still stands on Koscieliska Street in of Zakopane. The style is mainly associated with the steepness of the pitched roofs and the incorporation of large amounts of decorative carving. Originally the buildings were all built with massive squared wooden logs with the gaps filled with a sort of rope of twisted wood shavings rammed into the gaps. The locals regularly scrape off a very thin thickness of the outer layer of the exterior wooden walls and hence many buildings which are over 100 years old look remarkably new.

The Zakopane style dominated architecture in the Podhale region for many years  The start of WW1 is often taken as the cuttoff point of true Zakopane Style Architecture but until the communist era , which followed WW2, the style continued to have a great influence. Simnce the end of communism in Poland the local planning laws have mandated that new buildings in Zakopane must follow many of the rules associated with the traditional Zakopane style but wooden construction is not mandated. Many excellent modern versions incorporating much of this  architectural style have been built in Zakopane

The  museum of the Zakopane Style of Architecture located in the Villa “Koliba” (also called the Tatra Mountains Museum) provides visitors with information on the Zakopane style.

In addition to the local buildings in the highlands of Poland the  diaspora has exported the  Zakopane Style of Architecture into homes, chapels and community buildings that serve their community. Included here are  the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America  in Chigago,  and the chapel on the grounds of the  Polish Natural Alliance’s Youth Camp in Yorkville IL.

Know Before You Go

It is possible to get a train from Krakow to the town. If you decide to drive then be aware that there are several bad bottlenecks on the route and it may take much longer than you expect.

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