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KRUPÓWKI then and now. History and present offer of the pedestrian centre of Zakopane.


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Zakopane Krupowki

krupówki.bizZakopane Lower Krupówki,
Krupówki between Zborowskiego, Ko¶ciuszki and Zaruskiego streets:

Tatra Bazaar used to be here We go back to Krupówki along Zborowskiego street. Right next to the bridge is where Józef Laska (graduate of the the Vienna Industry School) opened the first ever souvenir shop in Zakopane in 1901. He was then a teacher at the local Carpentry School where for 37 years he instructed the youth how to make wooden souvenirs. A little bit later on the Tatra Bazaar of Helena Asłanowicz existed there and sold leather wear, as well as rented skis and sleighs. Both of those stalls burned down in 1927.
krupówki 9 On the opposite left hand side of the street, is a group of buildings that had been built on the property of Jan G±sienica Staszeczka, lands were later passed onto the Pawlica family. The oldest one of those is the house at number 9, most probably the oldest pension house in Zakopane. Reverend Józef Stolarczyk stayed at Staszeczka's in 1848, when he came over to take the Zakopane parish. Tytus Chałubiński also stayed here in 1873.

hotel sabala Next to those, at number 11 is the Sabała hotel. In 1896 Jan G±sienica Staszeczka's house was built there, and this was turned into Staszeczkówka pension in 1900 and ran by Jan's son- in-law Franciszek Pawlica. The house had 30 rooms for the guests, a restaurant, billiards room, tennis courts and own carriage room. After the Second World War the house was used as a PTTK hostel and meteorological station, later as dormitory of Weaving Industry Comprehensive School. In the years of 1996-1988 the house underwent a complete reconstruction and a modern hotel with an excellent central location was set up. It managed to preserve some of the traditional features of local architecture.


restaurant siklawa The history of the neighbouring house at number 13 is a similar one, these days it is part of the Sabała hotel and Siklawa restaurant. In the early years of the 20th century, it was used as the Gerlach pension house managed by Józef Delabiński and then Aniela Borne.
villa libeltówka All the above houses are an example of homogeneous urban architecture built in the inter war period. Most of those buildings have got shops on the ground floor and flats on the upper ones.
The house that holds Bank PKO SA (at number 19) used to be a big wooden villa of Jan Krzeptowski. In the place where the bank corners with the Giewont hotel (Pizza Hut) Villa Libeltówka was placed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The house belonged to one of the most renowned doctors in Zakopane Tomasz Janiszewski.
hotel gromada In the place of today's Gromada hotel, otherwise known as Gazda, a wooden house which held the Zagłoba Bar (prior known as At the Post Office's and At the Papież's - from the owner's name) and shops existed until 1974. Zakopane's central point Our walking route takes us to the crossroads of Krupówki, Ko¶ciuszki and Zaruskiego streets, which is today believed to be the main central point of Zakopane.

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All of the below quotes come from a book called Zakopane, The Historic Guide (available only in Polish). Translation: Agnieszka Baczkowska.