Bank Polski Building in Częstochowa

The Bank Polski building stands on the Second Aleja, on the main promenade of Częstochowa, and was built in 1903-1904 in the Renaissance-Art Nouveau style. It is listed in the heritage register, and two notorious bank robberies are linked to its history.

Architecture and history of the building

The building was erected for the Russian State Bank to a design by Tadeusz Fijałkowski. It had two storeys, with a spacious cash hall on the ground floor, and the façade is made of brick. From 1927 it housed the headquarters of Bank Polski SA, after the Second World War of the National Bank of Poland, and in the early 1990s the building passed to Bank Śląski.

The bank robberies

In 1930 Stanisław Cichocki, known as Szpicbródka, tried to break into the Częstochowa branch of Bank Polski, but the attempt was foiled. A robbery succeeded only on 20 April 1943: a unit of the National Armed Forces from Radom terrorised the staff during office hours and took 3 million zlotys in cash. The action was led by the priest Lt. Feliks Kowalik.

Practical information

• Address: Aleja Najświętszej Maryi Panny 34, Częstochowa.
• The building is viewed from the outside, on the way between Jasna Góra (about 1.3 km) and the Archcathedral Basilica of the Holy Family.
• A few hundred metres away is the Częstochowa Philharmonic.