Emanuel Rost's Small Palace in Bielsko-Biała

Emanuel Rost's small palace stands at ulica Komorowicka 48 in Bielsko-Biała, at the corner of ulica Towarzystwa Szkoły Ludowej. The architect Emanuel Rost junior designed this Neo-Rococo and Art Nouveau building from 1903 as his own house and office.

The architect's house

Rost junior was the author of, among other things, the town hall and the Pod Żabami Tenement House. After his death in 1915 the small palace remained in the family until the end of the Second World War. In 1945 it was taken over after nationalisation and allocated to the education department. It housed a boarding house of the teacher-training secondary school, then schools, and from 1979 the Provincial Pedagogical Library, which has held it in perpetual management since 2006.

Façade and interiors

The single-storey corner building is decorated with herms, vases, figures, cartouches, mascarons and the coats of arms of Biała. Two domes rise above the roof, recalling the Hofburg in Vienna. On the south side lies a landscape garden with trees from 1910-1935, including Weymouth pines, beeches, chestnuts and a plane tree.

Inside, the original Art Nouveau decoration has largely survived: stained glass with birds, stucco, coffered ceilings, wood panelling with inlays, fireplaces and tiles. Notable are the Japanese room with a fountain and bamboo in the former orangery, the ballroom and the former chapel with a fireplace. The building was entered in the heritage register in 1986.

Practical information

• Address: ulica Komorowicka 48, Bielsko-Biała.
• The small palace is the seat of a library, so it is worth asking at the institution about the possibility of entering the interiors.