Traditional mansions in Mazovia

Modest but still attractive. Traditional mansions in Mazovia have been preserved almost in an unchanged form and are still very popular. What architectural solutions do they consider?

Body

Perpendicular, usually with a porch with columns, whose main function was to shield the entrance to the building, and also decorate it. Therefore, it was important so that the porch was harmonious with the body and proportional.
Generally, a noble mansion was a single-storey building, initially erected from larch wood on a stone or brick wall base. Whereas the southern facade used to be pointed towards 11 o’clock - so that the sun could catch all the house walls from April to September. It was not until the 18th century that mansions were erected in the western part of the Republic of Poland, almost entirely based on bricks.

Roof

Hipped, tall and massive with large cubature - even from the distance one could see that it was predominant over the base. With or without roof windows (if they decided to use them, they generally couldn’t attract the sight). Usually it was covered with ceramic tiles, and previously with shingles, thatch or chips.

Windows

Arranged symmetrically, with divisions but small, which contributed to poor illumination indoors.

Ornamentation

Cornices, lucarnes and balusters - Mazovian mansions featured numerous decorations. Profiled cornices were often added to gabble walls above the windows and the entrance.

Facades

Plastered, usually limed. But it was also popular to cover them with natural, subdued, pastel colours (at that time pastel beige was dominant), so that the buildings could blend with the surrounding landscape.

Selected examples

It’s hard to count all the traditional mansions in Mazovia. First of all, they are the following: Żelazowa Wola (near Sochaczew, Dłużew (near Mińsk Mazowiecki), Opinogóra (near Ciechanów), Orońsko (near Szydłowiec), Stawisko (Podkowa Leśna) or for example Sucha (near Siedlce).

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