Willa Polonia Art Gallery in Busko-Zdrój

The green wooden villa at the entrance to Busko's old town looks like a typical spa guest house from a century ago. Few spa visitors know that during the German occupation it housed a Nazi Special Court, and in the cellar a jail where up to twenty people were held in a cell meant for four. Today the Willa Polonia Busko Art Gallery shows contemporary art and a permanent exhibition on the history of Busko-Zdrój – and the building itself is one of the town's most compelling stories.

History: from doctor's villa to place of torment

The villa was built around 1900 by Dr Julian Majkowski. In 1905 he sold it to another spa doctor, Antoni Sulimierski, and the next owner was Dr Leopold Byrkowski. In 1938, on his deathbed, Byrkowski left the villa to the student aid society of Warsaw University. It is the only wooden building within Busko's historic old-town area.

During the Second World War the Germans installed a Security Police (Sicherheitspolizei) post and a Special Court (Sondergericht) here. Interrogations, often with torture, took place upstairs; the cellar held members of the resistance – soldiers of the Home Army and the Peasants' Battalions. An empty coffin stood in the cellar vestibule, placed so that every new prisoner would see it. The head of these institutions, Hans Peters, was killed in an attack by Polish partisans. At the time the building was known as “Dr Byrkowski's villa”.

From demolition to gallery

After the war the building was used in turn by the communist party committee, a youth organisation, the ambulance service, a maternity unit in the 1960s, the management of a rubber factory and the public library. By 1980 it was fit only for demolition. It was saved by Home Army veterans and a specially formed citizens' committee. A major renovation lasted from 1980 to 1989, after which it housed the “Zielona” gallery and the Busko Regional Museum. The villa is protected as a historic monument and a place of remembrance.

It has recently undergone another thorough renovation: the foundations were strengthened, the ground floor almost entirely rebuilt and the timber frame of the upper floor and attic completely replaced. The panelling and decorations were dismantled, restored and refitted, missing pieces were recreated, and a small extension was added at the back.

What to see

• Temporary exhibitions of contemporary art in four rooms – artists from Poland, abroad and the region, with talks, lectures and workshops alongside each show.
• The permanent exhibition “Project History” on Busko's past: from the 12th century and the time of Duke Leszek the Black, through Bolesław the Chaste's charter of 1252 – the first mention of Busko's salt – and the 16th-century Reformation, to the growth of the spa and its Alpine-style villas. Singer Krystyna Jamroz and songwriter Wojciech Belon, both linked to the town, have their own section.
• The villa itself – wooden porches, balconies and façade panelling, restored during the latest renovation.

Tripto tip

The gallery is at al. Adama Mickiewicza 7 in the centre of Busko-Zdrój, so it fits easily into a walk around the spa town. Opening hours: Tuesday–Friday 9:00–17:00, Saturday 13:00–17:00, closed on Mondays. The exhibition programme changes, so check before you go (tel. +48 41 370 54 35). Allow 45–60 minutes for the permanent and current exhibitions. See the historical section before the contemporary show – it helps you understand what this house was in 1939–1945.