The House of the Eagles (), also known as the Cooperative Associations Bank Building (), is a modernist office building in Warsaw, Poland, located at 1 Jasna Street, within the North Downtown neighbourhood. It houses the headquarters of the Cooperative State Council, the Museum of the Cooperative Movement History, and a branch of Bank Pekao. The building was designed by Jan Fryderyk Heurich, and built between 1912 and 1917. It was heavily damaged in 1944 during the Second World War, and was rebuilt and expanded between 1948 and 1950. It is registered on the voivodeship heritage list.
History
The building was designed in the modernist style by Jan Fryderyk Heurich.Marta Leśniakowska: Architektura w Warszawie. Warsaw: Arkada Pracownia Historii Sztuki, 2005, p. 60. ISBN 83-908950-8-0. (in Polish) It was built between 1912 and 1917 in place of a morgue and cemetery chapel of the Child Jesus Hospital.Józef Galewski, Ludwik B. Grzeniewski: Warszawa zapamiętana. Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1961, p. 56. (in Polish) The building became the headquarters of the Cooperative Associations Bank, which operated until 1946.Jerzy Kasprzycki: Korzenie miasta. Warszawskie pożegnania, tom II: Śródmieście północne. Warsaw: Veda, 1997. (in Polish)
Its façade was decorated with copper metal sheets decorated with plant motives. Its walls also featured reliefs by Jan Antoni Biernack, titled the Farm Work, and at the top of front corners were installed large sculptures of eagles, made by Józef Zygmunt Otto.Jarosława Zieliński: Atlas dawnej architektury ulic i placów Warszawy. Tom 5. Idźkowskiego–Kawęczyńska. 1999, pp. 102–103. ISBN 83-909794-6-2. (in Polish)
The House of the Eagles was heavily damaged in 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising. Additionally, a provisional cemetery for the fallen insurgents was organized at a small square in front of the building. It was rebuilt between 1948 and 1950, and expanded towards Sienkiewicz Street, with the project designed by Barbara Brukalska. The building became the provisional headquarters of the National Bank of Poland, and later one of its branches."Kronika wydarzeń w Warszawie 1945−1958", Warszawskie Kalendarz Ilustrowany 1959. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Tygodnika Ilustrowanego Stolica, 1959, p. 53. (in Polish)
On 22 December 1964, a motorized convoy transporting money from the Central Department Store, was attacked and robbed in front of the building, killing two guards, and stealing 1.3 million Polish zloties. It was one of the largest heists in the history of Poland.
Currently, the building is the headquarters of the Cooperative State Council, the Museum of the Cooperative Movement History, and a branch of Bank Pekao.
Architecture The House of the Eagles is a 6-storey-tall modernist office building, currently housing the headquarters of the Cooperative State Council, the Museum of the Cooperative Movement History, and a branch of Bank Pekao. Its walls also feature reliefs by Jan Antoni Biernack, titled the Farm Work, and its front corners are topped off with two sculptures of eagles, made by Józef Zygmunt Otto. Its façade is also decorated with copper metal sheets decorated with plant motives.
Gallery
References