Bank Handlowy Building

The Bank Handlowy building at Piłsudskiego 5 in Częstochowa is a building constructed in the early 20th century for the Warsaw branch of Bank Handlowy. It has an eclectic façade dominated by Neo-Renaissance features and has been in the heritage register since 1989.

Why the bank built its own building

Bank Handlowy opened a branch in Częstochowa in 1897, in a town with a fast-growing industry. The first seat was rented premises in a tenement building in the Aleje, but in 1902 the management decided to build its own building. An empty plot was chosen by a street then called Dojazd, about 50 metres from the Aleje. The design was entrusted to Tadeusz Fijałkowski, who already had experience with bank buildings, as he had designed the State Bank building in the Aleje. The construction in 1904-1905 was carried out by the Częstochowa firm Topór.

The façade and the extension

The building stands on a rectangular plan, has a gabled roof, a carriage gate leading to the courtyard on the south side and an outbuilding. The façade refers to the Italian Renaissance: it is decorated with rustication, cornices, a balcony supported on consoles, stucco and a rosette above the gate. As early as 1912 the main customer hall proved too small. The extension was designed by the Warsaw office of Hugo Kuder, and Fijałkowski's façade was left unchanged. The work was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War and resumed in 1916. During it the banking hall was enlarged, supported on twelve columns, a mezzanine and a glass skylight were added, and a terrace with a summer garden was arranged on the roof.

The later fate of the building

After the war the bank was nationalised, and the building housed in turn the Agricultural Bank and a branch of the National Bank of Poland. In the communist period, alterations blurred the original character of the interior, and a renovation in 1992-1996 restored its historic form. Later other banks were based here. The building stood empty, so before a visit it is worth checking what condition it is in and whether entry is possible.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego 5, a few dozen metres from Aleja Najświętszej Maryi Panny.
• The façade is best viewed from the street; the interiors are not always accessible.
• Very close are the Archcathedral Basilica of the Holy Family and the Częstochowa Philharmonic.