Austeria Inn in Sławków

In August 1697 King Augustus II the Strong feasted at the Sławków inn and — so the story goes — broke a silver cup with his bare hands in front of the guests. The wooden inn at Rynek 2 still stands and still feeds visitors: a restaurant has been operating in it again since the 1990s. It is one of the finest surviving examples of an old Polish inn and a stop on the Wooden Architecture Route of the Silesian Voivodeship.

History: an inn older than the town

Innkeeping in Sławków goes back to the early 13th century. Jan Długosz recorded that in 1220 Bishop Iwo Odrowąż of Kraków endowed the Holy Spirit monastery in Prądnik with income from the local inns — one of the earliest mentions of Sławków itself. The inn stood on the highway from Kraków to Silesia and was rebuilt several times on the same spot. Archaeologists found 13th-century walls beneath it, although it is not known whether an inn already operated here at that time.

A ceiling beam bears a date read as 1701 or 1781 — sources differ, and it is unclear whether it marks construction or a repair. In 1787 the town had three inns: the Town Austeria, the Sławków Barn and the Wygoda Inn, which together sold 1,620 pots of vodka and 219 barrels of beer. The official name was “Austeria Miejska w Sławkowie Pierwochą Zwana” — “Pierwocha” probably meaning the first inn, the oldest or the best.

In 1862 the town council decided to demolish the dilapidated building. It was saved by an agreement with two residents of Olkusz, Izrael Blumenfelt and Salomon Frydman, who repaired the inn in return for a 20-year lease. During the occupation it housed a “Deutsches Haus”, from 1969 to 1987 the town museum, and since the 1990s a restaurant once more.

What to see

• The T-shaped plan and floor area of about 380 m² — the building faces the market square with its broad front.
• The deep arcade resting on six round stone columns and the shingled mansard roof.
• The wide carriage passage in the middle, which led wagons to the stables and coach house at the back. The floor was shaped with slopes so that water and stable waste would not flood the rooms.

“Austeria” is a word of Italian origin: it was used for inns of the highest standard, with a kitchen, lodgings and stabling. The building has always belonged to the town and been leased out.

Tripto tips

15–20 minutes is enough to see the building from outside, but it is best to plan a meal here and look inside. Check the restaurant's opening hours by phone before you come. Sławków lies on the A4 motorway; the inn combines easily with a stroll around the market square and a visit to the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.