Sedlaczek House

Sedlaczek House stands at Rynek 1 (Market Square) in Tarnowskie Góry and dates from the 16th century. It was originally the home of the starosts of the Bytom Land, and since the end of the 18th century it has housed a wine bar said to have hosted kings and Goethe. A museum occupies the upper floor, and the building is entered in the heritage register.

Seat of the starosts and a vintner's house

The oldest history of the house is linked to its role as the seat of the starosts of the Bytom Land. In 1805 it was bought by the Czech merchant Jan Sedlaczek, who had already opened a wine bar here in 1786. His descendants ran it until 1922, and the wine bar still operates on the same spot. According to tradition, in 1683 Jan III Sobieski stopped here and feasted on his way to Vienna. Other visitors included Augustus II the Strong (1697), Augustus III of Saxony (1734), Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1790) and Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz (1821).

Rescue after the war

After the Second World War the building was in very poor condition and faced demolition. In 1957 the Society of Friends of the Tarnowskie Góry Land took on its renovation. During the work a Renaissance ceiling with polychrome decoration from the first half of the 17th century was discovered. In 2019 its shingle-covered roof was renovated.

Architecture

It is a two-storey building on a rectangular plan with a timber roof frame covered in shingles. On the ground floor barrel vaults with lunettes have survived, and the cellars are covered with barrel vaults with lunettes and with sail vaults. Under the roof at the corner there is a stone head with a plume, probably from the end of the 17th century, which represents Augustus III. Above the entrance is a decoration from 1786 with putti holding a curtain and the first coat of arms of the town, which is also a mining emblem. In the 18th century and until the second half of the 20th century a Prussian eagle appeared in this place.

The museum upstairs

On the first floor is a museum founded in 1958, with mainly mining collections and exhibitions on the town, its monuments and its history. One of the rooms, the "Room under the Renaissance Ceiling", serves as a venue for academic and cultural meetings. The upper floor belongs to the town, while the cellars and ground floor are privately owned.

Practical information

• Address: Rynek 1, Tarnowskie Góry.
• The wine bar and the museum have separate managers and their own opening hours, which are given on their websites.
• Nearby are Gwarków Square and the former synagogue, both about 200 m away.
• Larger mining sites, such as the Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry, lie about 2 km from the Market Square.