History
The historic arcaded, half-timber house, called Lions Court, dates from the beginning of the seventeenth century. According to other sources, dendrochronological studies have dated it on 1572. It belonged to the wealthy Ferber family, who used it for grain storage (in the attic) and flat. It was a period of increased grain exports, which were not able to accommodate Gdańsk’s granaries at certain times of the year. Later there was a large roadside inn in it.
Architecture
The building was erected on a rectangular plan with dimensions of 12×20 meters. It was constructed using the timber frame technique, with oak wood from which a frame was created, originally filled with wicker and clay. The house was divided into two storeys and an attic covered with a gable roof of a collar beam structure. Along the entire length of the front (western) façade, facing the route to Gdańsk and the Radunia canal, an arcade was created consisting of 9 pillars connected by a long cap beam supported by braces. The external facades of the building were formed by a fairly regular lattice created as a result of whitewashing the spacees between the beams. Architectural details in the form of rich carpentry forms were used: friezes on beams or mouldings of arcade’s cornices. In the ground floor, the house was divided into rooms with an area of about 180 m2, and an additional first floor and a low attic used for economic purposes.
Current state
Lions Court is one of the best preserved and oldest arcaded, timber frame houses in Poland. From the half-timbered building to this day, the elements of the wooden roof truss and than carpentry elements have preserved unchanged. The original framework of the structure filled with wicker and clay was replaced with bricks in the 1960s. Currently, Lions Court is in the hands of a private investor who has recently renovated the building.
bibliography:
Samp J., Orunia, Stare Szkoty i Lipce, Gdańsk 2005.
Stankiewicz J., Zabytki budownictwa na Żuławach, “Rocznik Gdański”, t. 15-16, 1956/1957.
Tłoczek I., Polskie budownictwo drewniane, Warszawa 1980.