Witkiewiczówka Villa in Zakopane

On the night of 22–23 August 1939, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz painted his last portrait in this house, and the next day he left Zakopane, never to return. Witkiewiczówka on Antałówka street is a wooden villa in the Zakopane style from 1903–1904, where Witkacy – as he is universally known – lived and ran his famous Portrait Company from 1931 to 1939. The house is still a guesthouse today, so you can do more than admire the facade: you can stay the night.

History: the Witkiewicz family home

The villa was built on the initiative of Jan Witkiewicz, elder brother of Stanisław Witkiewicz, the creator of the Zakopane style – a national architectural style inspired by the wooden houses of the Polish highlanders. The design was by the founder's son, architect Jan Witkiewicz Koszczyc, probably together with his uncle, and the builder was carpenter Wojciech Roj. At first the house was called "Na Antałówce". For many years Stanisław Witkiewicz's sister, Maria Witkiewiczówna, Witkacy's aunt, ran a guesthouse here.

After his mother's death in 1931, Witkacy moved in: painter, playwright and philosopher, one of the most original figures in 20th-century Polish culture. He set up a studio and received clients of his Portrait Company, which produced portraits according to a strict set of rules and a price list. It was then that the name "Witkiewiczówka" stuck.

After the war

In 1945 Maria Witkiewiczówna leased the house to the Association of Art Historians, which ran a creative retreat here until 1955. From 1956 the villa served, among other things, as a holiday home for the construction workers' trade union; in 1969 the heirs sold it to that union. In 1992 it was taken over by the Energopol company, which renovated it, and in the early 21st century the house returned to private hands. In 2001 the owners received an award from Poland's General Conservator of Monuments for exemplary restoration work. The villa had been entered in the heritage register as early as 1947.

What to look for

• Log construction on a high stone base with arches – a classic Zakopane combination.
• The shingled roof with dormers and balconies in the gables; shingles replaced the roof tiles in 1953.
• The veranda at the front and the decorative post fence.
• Inside, beamed ceilings, pine panelling with folk motifs and tiled stoves survive – you will see them as a guest.

Tripto tip

Witkiewiczówka is a private guesthouse, not a museum: you can see the facade from the street, but only guests go inside. Ten minutes is enough for photos from outside. The house stands at the foot of Antałówka hill, a 10–15 minute walk from Krupówki, Zakopane's main street. If you are interested in Witkacy and the Zakopane style, combine your visit with the Museum of Zakopane Style in the Koliba villa – the first building in this style designed by Stanisław Witkiewicz – and the Pęksowy Brzyzek Cemetery of the Distinguished, where Witkacy has a symbolic grave.