Wędlikowski House

The Wędlikowski House at ulica PCK 10 in the Śródmieście district of Katowice is a Modernist tenement house from the late 1930s, regarded as one of the symbols of Katowice Modernism. It was designed by Stanisław Gruszka and built in 1937-1939.

Investors and architecture

The investors were the gynaecologist Dr Kazimierz Wędlikowski and his wife Henryka, who built the house as a rental building for many families; it is possible that part of it served as a clinic for women. The five-storey brick building, on an L-shaped plan, has a flat roof with a terrace and a style of Modernism with elements of Functionalism.

The rounded corner with cylindrical window panes was called soft. Horizontal bands of windows, balconies and wall panels in white, black and red with varied plaster textures gave the house the nickname Zebra. The main entrance is on the south side, and on the west one can see a garage gate, semicircular balconies and a flagpole.

Interiors and the fate of the house

The layout of the flats is two-bay and almost unchanged. The staircase has walls of grey and white marble and travertine and a three-colour terrazzo floor. The letterboxes, chrome and wood balustrades, doors, windows, doorbells and a lift with a crystal mirror have survived.

During the occupation and after 1945, flats were allocated to officials, and after 1989 the owners' family regained the whole house. Today it contains flats and offices. The house is part of the Modernism Trail project, and its silhouette has appeared on products of the Geszeft brand.

Nearby stands the Cathedral of Christ the King, 400 m away.

Practical information

• Address: ul. PCK 10, Katowice.
• The house is inhabited and partly used as offices; it is viewed from the outside, and access to the staircase depends on the manager.