Learn our history

1919 brings a change in the owner of the villa and becomes Irena Jarrowa, wife of Wacław and daughter-in-law of Marcin Jarra. The house from the first letters of the names of the spouses receives the name Wir.

Marcin Jarra was an excellent Polish bronzer at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, fascinated by Zakopane and the art of Podhale, and the creator of platers in the Zakopane style. The Jarra family often visited Tatra Mountains and in Zakopane, where the defunct villa Borek (Jagielońska Street) also belonged to them. Krakow Jarra Zakłady produced numerous everyday objects decorated with highland motifs, which today we can admire, among others, in the branch of the Tatra Museum - Museum of Zakopane Style in Villa Koliba.

The villa on the ground floor, extended by Elżbieta Korfantowa in 1927, included a hall, a dining room, two representative rooms, a bedroom, a kitchen and a huge bathroom (all except the kitchen in the amfilade). The upper floor also housed four bedrooms and a housekeeper's room in the amfilade. Elżbieta Korfantowa introduced numerous facilities previously unknown in Zakopane.

The house was connected to the city water supply and since then running water appeared in it. On the ground floor in one of the rooms, a bathroom is furnished, or rather a bath room. A powerful cast-iron tub recessed into the floor was installed and, for safety, it was surrounded by a steel railing with brass knobs. There was a sanitary corner fenced off from the rest of the bathroom with a large folding screen, in which, in addition to the classic water closet, there was also a place for a bidet. Some of the walls and the floor are tiled with ceramic tiles and terracotta tiles. An additional toilet is also located on the upper floor.

Water was heated throughout the house centrally with the help of a horseshoe installed in the kitchen stove. There, too, a large boiler was hung over the kitchen door. The plumbing and sewerage system was brought to all the bedrooms, including those on the upper floor, and a washbasin was installed in each of them. Steel pipes were run with wooden chess filled with sawdust. Unfortunately, this was too poor insulation for the cold Zakopane winters. In the coldest months, water was drained from the plant and a small cast-iron sink in the kitchen was used, where water was dripping from the non-stop tap. In the greatest frosts, the water was turned off completely and a hand-held well, which was located in the yard, was used.

In the kitchen, apart from a small cast-iron cold water sink, there was a second big brass one used every day. Kitchen walls for sanitary reasons were plastered and systematically washed and painted. Elizabeth Korfantowa was extremely practical in this regard.

The house was heated with stoves. There were 13 of them together. The oldest furnaces were from the Art Nouveau period, the others from the 1830s. The villa was mainly used in summer, despite this, a sizeable coal cellar and the possibility of heating the whole house were provided.

In Elżbiecina of the interwar years there was no telephone, and in case of “higher necessity”, the nearest camera was used in nearby Sienkiewiczówka. In contrast, a system of electric bells was installed, which were used when a service was wanted to summon.

Changes also occurred to the outer body of the building. A porch was added to the north wall — a gallery, which ran from the main entrance below the kitchen window, to the outer kitchen door and further along the western wall. It was here that Elizabeth Korfantowa's famous red geraniums stood in the boxes. A kitchen entrance to the house and simple communication with the pantry located directly under the kitchen were created in this way. In accordance with the fashion of that time from the south side, the new owners decided to build a large terrace on a stone foundation with arcades characteristic of Zakopane houses. The upstairs verandah remained undeveloped. The roof was covered with sheet metal jointed on the felc. In the windows of the ground floor, retractable gratings were installed, which were used during the absence of the owners. An interesting fact was the curtains - blinds inside the box windows from the south, protecting the interiors from excessive sunlight.

Elizabeth was arranged partly in the serf and partly in highland. The floor in the hall, dining room and the entire floor was decorated with oak parquet arranged in an intricate herringbone. In the rest of the rooms and kitchen, simple boards are covered with modern linoleum. The walls of the hall and dining room were panelled, thus hiding the exteriors of amphibians. Dark by nature, the hall was illuminated by a giant crystal chandelier and matching sconces. An interesting fact was the decorative fabrics on the walls of the western living room. Maybe that's where the library mentioned earlier was?

Wojciech Korfanty was friends with Wojciech Brzega for many years and it was oak furniture designed by a well-known Zakopane sculptor that adorned the entrance hall and the bedrooms on the upper floor. The Highlander set, apart from the aforementioned corner in the hall, included beds, high bedside tables, a decorative dressing table with a mirror, two tables, 12 chairs, at least two wardrobes and a glazed display. Unfortunately, no photos of the interiors of the villa from this period have survived.

Wojciech and Elżbieta Korfanty and their family often resided in their Zakopane estate. “Most often in Zakopane, where he had a tiny seat with a golden resin tree smelling. It happened that the cottage by the creek, in the windows of which the flames of geraniums booze, was filled with a multitude of people. Whoever lives from art, literature and painting, an actor or a great musician, entered here as himself and made a hustle and bustle. It was bright and good in the Zakopane cottage, which is called Elżbiecina. ( ... ) *

(...) * Kornel Makuszyński - Thoughtful Memories 1939

The politician and the artist met briefly in August 1931 at one of those moments that the busy Korfanty spent “for the sake of health” in Zakopane. In his letters to his wife, Witkacy made no secret of his fascination with Korfanty and the efforts he had made to get closer to the politician. On August 14, he wrote in a letter to his wife a significant phrase: “Korfanty makes a good impression. A very strong beast.”

The portraits of Wojciech's daughters Maria and Halżka were created in Elżbiecina and on August 23-28 the most famous portrait of Korfanty.

A portrait of the politician made by Witkacy before the war hung in Elżbiecina's hall immediately to the right of the main entrance above a beautifully carved corner in the Zakopane style of a chisel by Wojciech Brzega.

Currently, a digital copy hangs in its former location. The original is located in the Museum of History of Katowice.

In 2015, the property was purchased by the current owners. Mrs. Małgorzata, co-owner, was born and raised in this villa. Therefore, all heart was put into the process of renovation and revitalization, laboriously collected knowledge and passion.

It was possible to restore the atmosphere from the period of greatest splendor of the object and create a place where the atmosphere of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries harmoniously combines with the most modern technologies introducing this monument into the 21st century. In September 2019, Villa Elżbiecina was made available to guests and we hope that it will live up to its bicentenary birthday in excellent condition.