Mała Ziemiańska: The Legendary Artists’ Café of Interwar Warsaw
In the Interwar period, the coffeehouse Mała Ziemiańska was one of the hottest spots on Warsaw’s cultural map. It was frequented by celebrated Polish writers and artists, and eventually gained legendary status as a haven for the artistic elites. Culture.pl looks back at the story of this famed establishment through the eyes of its most noted regulars and their Ziemiańska experiences.
Delightful humour & flashy jokes
Picture display
mały obrazek [560 px]
A caricature by Władysław Daszewski showing Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski, Jan Lechoń, Julian Tuwim & Antoni Słonimski at the table in the mezzanine, photo: from the book ‘Stolik Zarezerwowany’ by Jan Mencwel, Jan Wiśniewski & Jan Żółtowski.
There are many cafés, all around the globe, which are linked to well-known patrons. Paris has its Café de la Paix, where Émile Zola and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky used to stop in for a drink; in Venice there’s Café Florian, a place frequented by the likes of Lord Byron and Marcel Proust; and in Buenos Aires you can find Café La Biela, which Jorge Luis Borges visited regularly.
When it comes to Warsaw, one of its most notable cafés can no longer be found on the map. Mała Ziemiańska (translated as ‘the Little Landed Gentry Café’) was a haven for Polish artists, writers in particular, during the Interwar period. Thanks to numerous famous regulars and its unique ambience, Ziemiańska quickly became a legendary establishment, one that is still remembered today with much nostalgia.
Text
What we have is an image of a magnificent establishment, filled with celebrated figures of literature, art and theatre, buzzing with delightful humour and awash with flashy jokes, providing the spontaneous joy of congregating with the capital’s artistic elite […]
Author
From the 2013 book ‘Warszawskie Kawiarnie Literackie’ by Andrzej Z. Makowiecki, trans. MK
Even if this image is a bit idealised, it is grounded in facts. Mała Ziemiańska was indeed a special place. Below you can find out more about this unique establishment and some of its most memorable regulars.
Shrouded in tobacco smoke
Picture display
standardowy [760 px]
Mazowiecka Street in Warsaw, 1925, photo: Roman Kotowicz / Forum
Mała Ziemiańska was founded on 14th April 1918 by two expert pâtissiers – Karol Albrecht and Jan Skępski. It was a branch of a chain which included seven other Ziemiańska cafés spread across Warsaw. This particular establishment was located in a tenement house at 12 Mazowiecka Street, in the very heart of the capital.
Various cultural institutions were located nearby: the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts (today’s Zachęta National Gallery), the Warsaw Philharmonic and Jakub Mortkowicz’s well-known bookstore. A number of used books shops, as well as the Warsaw University were also in the vicinity.
Perhaps it was due to this prime location, that Mała Ziemiańska quickly began to draw in Warsaw’s artistic elite. Without a doubt, clients were attracted by the café’s high quality pastries: its famous cakes (such as the Provence cake with almonds, or the Spanish cake with pineapple), doughnuts, angel wings, and more. Coffee was served in glasses – a small coffee came in a half-full glass, a large one filled the glass to the brim.
At first Mała Ziemiańska was a rather small establishment limited to a single room on the ground floor, hence the mała or ‘little’ in its name. But in the 1920s, the popular café was expanded to accommodate the growing number of patrons. After the expansion, the ground floor consisted of two rooms adorned with oak panelling and mirrors. The front room served as a pastry shop and included a counter filled with sweets. The other room was used as a coffeehouse. An upper floor appeared, embellished with paintings by Wacław Borowski showing allegories of the four seasons. Artistic events such as cabaret performances and concerts were occasionally held on this floor (coffee was also served here, of course). The stairs leading to the upper floor had a mezzanine which, as we shall soon find out, was to become one of the most important places in the entire establishment. In the summertime, Mała Ziemiańska also had an outside patio area in the courtyard.
Here’s how Mała Ziemiańska was described by the critic and literary historian Stanisław Lam:
Text
The small room (later greatly expanded) […] was shrouded in tobacco smoke, so that when you came in, you couldn’t see much at all. Only after your eyes adjusted a little, and your ears adapted to the overwhelming chatter – the following view unfolded before you […]. At round tables with a diameter of no more than 40 centimetres, small groups of people were seated. […] In front of every person stood a large glass half-filled with coffee.
Author
From the 1968 book ‘Życie Wśród Wielu’, trans. MK
Fragment of ‘At a Table in Mała Ziemiańska Café’ by Maja Berezowska, from the left: Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Julian Tuwim, Kazimierz Wierzyński & Jan Lechoń, photo: Agra-Art / sztuka.agraart.pl The luminaries of Poland’s Interwar cultural life had their favourite tables where they sat regularly. The most important of these tables was definitely the one on the mezzanine – a sturdy oak table surrounded by three armchairs and a sofa. Beginning in 1927, this particular table was reserved for the Skamander poetry group. They believed that writing in verse should be connected to everyday life and rooted in the present. This group consisted of five influential authors: Julian Tuwim, Antoni Słonimski, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Kazimierz Wierzyński and Jan Lechoń.
These poets and writers, involved with the satirical periodical Cyrulik Warszawski, had their own table at Ziemiańska before the café’s expansion. But when the establishment gained its nifty seating area on the landing, Karol Albrecht offered this space to them. The Skamander group gladly accepted the offer, thanks to their extraordinary literary stature, it quickly became the hottest spot in the café. Members of the group would meet there every day, between 1pm and 3pm.
Naturally, their table drew much attention:
Text
The most important table, however, was the one on the platform, drawing looks full of admiration and masked jealousy; at first it belonged to the editors of Cyrulik Warszawski, later it was called the Skamander table.
Author
From ‘Warszawskie Kawiarnie Literackie’, trans. MK
One ought to add that the table in question was noticeable not only thanks to the fame of its regulars but also due to their cheerful disposition. The Skamander poets are said to have cracked countless jokes and discussed any issue without hesitation (and loudly!):
Text
This table – due to the remarkably good humour of the participants of these satirical conventicles – was also called the Gallery of Scoffers.
Author
From ‘Warszawskie Kawiarnie Literackie’, trans. MK
Unfortunately, even though Mała Ziemiańska was described in a number of memoirs we don’t have many accounts of the jokes that were cracked there. Jan Lechoń recalls one such joke in his Dziennik (Journal), shared by the celebrated bon-vivant Franc Fiszer who used to pass time with the Skamander poets:
Text
Franc Fiszer roared in Ziemiańska: ‘There will be no order in Poland until 750,000 scoundrels shall be shot to death’. To this someone remarked sceptically: ‘Do you think that there are as many as 750,000 scoundrels?’. Franc replied unabashed: ‘No problem with that. If required we can supplement with honest folks.’.
Author
From the 1992 book ‘Dziennik’ by Jan Lechoń, trans. MK
Access to the Skamander table was strictly controlled by Lechoń – you would be considered very lucky if you were admitted to it. Apart from Fiszer, among the chosen ones that could join the company of the five poets were, for instance, the well-known military man and amateur poet Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski, the eminent writer and literary critic Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, the valued satirical writer Magdalena Samozwaniec and her sister, the noted poet Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska.
Picture display
standardowy [760 px]
‘Spring’ by Wacław Borowski, 1925, one of the paintings embellishing the upper floor of Mała Ziemiańska, photo: audiovis.nac.gov.pl (NAC)
At a certain point, Franc Fiszer ostentatiously changed his favourite spot – he moved from the mezzanine to the ground floor, where he’d sit at the table of his friend, the outstanding poet Bolesław Leśmian. Leśmian is typically remembered for his immensely creative neologisms, as well as references to Slavic folklore and mythology. Fiszer felt that the Skamander group didn’t give Leśmian’s work enough credit, so he moved downstairs to show his support for him.
Leśmian is said to have usually come to Mała Ziemiańska only after the Skamander meetings were over. By then the coffeehouse was less busy and he could have a peaceful chat with his friends who included, aside from Fiszer, the immensely talented painter Zofia Stryjeńska and the sculptor Henryk Kuna. Leśmian was also known to have enjoyed the company of young poets like Anatol Stern, with whom he’d discuss literature, e.g. the works of Dostoyevsky or Conrad.
While he would often share a table with noted Polish artists, there was a group of artists that had their own table at Ziemiańska.
Text
In the room on the ground floor the painters would congregate. Over their table hung a painting of a glass of black coffee painted by Tadeusz Gronowski, which had a real spoon attached to it, next to that there was a sign: ‘Table reserved.’
Author
From the 2005 book ‘W Dawnych Cukierniach i Kawiarniach Warszawskich’ by Wojciech Herbaczyński, trans. MK
This table was most strongly associated with Gronowski, the talented painter and graphic artist. His posters could be found all over Interwar Warsaw, and many a book was illustrated by him. In 1929, Gronowski created the tasteful logo of LOT Polish Airlines, which is still used today. Other regulars at this table included Kazimierz Lasocki, best remembered as an author of landscape paintings, the cubist painter Romuald Kamil Witkowski, and the graphic artist Feliks Jabłczyński, who often depicted architecture. The latter is said to have been a great original (apparently, he invented a special kind of soap for freshening up badly smelling meat?) and was much appreciated by the café’s staff. Every time he visited the establishment, he’d receive a free pastry and coffee. The painter’s table was also occasionally joined by the ubiquitous Fiszer.
Karol Albrecht inside his Mała Ziemiańska café, photo: audiovis.nac.gov.pl (NAC) The ground floor was also were the exceptional writer Witold Gombrowicz had his favourite table. He began frequenting Mała Ziemiańska in the 1930s, after he made his literary debut with a collection of humorous stories titled Memoirs of a Time of Immaturity. Gombrowicz would usually arrive at the café at around 9pm and share his table with the talented poet Zuzanna Ginczanka and the writers Jerzy Andrzejewski and Adolf Rudnicki. The witty aphorist Stanisław Jerzy Lec and the famous poet Julian Tuwim would occasionally join Gombrowicz’s circle.
Legend has it that Gombrowicz would read fragments of his novel Ferdydurke aloud to his friends while he was still working on it. This surreal work, published in 1937, went on to become one of the biggest classics of Polish literature.
However, Gombrowicz is said to have been a difficult companion:
Text
[At his table] the author of Ferdydurke would often conduct experiments on human sensitivity and resistance to impertinences, he’d arrange psychoanalytical inquiries about their private lives, vivisections, truly humiliating situations.
Author
From ‘Warszawskie Kawiarnie Literackie’, trans. MK
Gombrowicz’s psychological games created a tense atmosphere at his table and sometimes alienated his companions – Jerzy Andrzejewski eventually grew fed up with Gombrowicz’s behaviour and stopped spending time with him.
Another prominent writer that used to frequent the café at 12 Mazowiecka Street was Stefan Żeromski, author of, among others, the essential social-political novel The Spring to Come, published in 1924. He is said to have especially enjoyed the patio area in the summertime. Like Gombrowicz, Żeromski also enjoyed playing games at the coffeehouse, but not of a psychological nature. Żeromski and his friends, including Antoni Słonimski, Kazimierz Wierzyński, Jan Lechoń and the celebrated actor Stefan Jaracz, would play a game which revolved around remembering the details of particular literary works. The participants would ask each other questions and the winner would get a big coffee:
Text
You had to know even the smallest details of a landscape, outfit or saying from Sir Thaddeus, Beniowski, The Doll, or Ashes.
Author
From the 1961 book ‘Wspomnienia o Stefanie Żeromskim’, edited by Stanisław Eile, trans. MK
Funnily enough, during one of these games, Żeromski couldn’t remember the details of… his own novel – the 1904 Ashes (Popioły). Apparently, the writer admitted to his bad memory with a smile on his face.
Fashionable ladies & gentlemen
Picture display
standardowy [760 px]
Cover of Andrzej Z. Makowiecki’s 2013 book ‘Warszawskie Kawiarnie Literackie’, featuring Jerzy Szwajcer’s caricatures of Mała Ziemiańska’s patrons, photo: Iskry Publishing House
Apart from these artists, Mała Ziemiańska was visited by plenty of other Polish cultural figures. Among them were the poet Konstany Ildefons Gałczyński, the actress and singer Mira Zimińska and Maja Berezowska, a well-known author of erotic drawings. But of course, the famous café was also frequented by people not directly connected to culture – lawyers, doctors, engineers.
Text
It’s loud and crowded in Mazowiecka Street. Fashionable ladies and gentlemen are on their way to Ziemiańska to meet friends, talk about the latest news from the capital, to see ‘people’, and to be seen by others.
Author
From the 1971 book ‘Książka o Grydzewskim’ by various authors, quote by Stefan Galewski, trans. MK
The rich menagerie of people visiting Mała Ziemiańska was portrayed by the draughtsman Jerzy Szwajcer, a.k.a. Jotes, in two light-hearted drawings presenting the café’s densely packed interiors. These black and white depictions including well over 200 caricatures of Mała Ziemiańska’s patrons were created in 1929 and 1930, and adorned the establishment’s ground floor. The drawings in question survived World War II and can still be admired today – the cafés famous patrons are clearly visible:
Text
Jotes created a panorama of Mała Ziemiańska where he presented caricatures of dozens of the establishments’ regulars. Maja Berezowska, chubby and with a plump face, sits at a table with the sculptor Henryk Kuna and the art dealer Czesław Garliński. The other woman at the table is Zofia Stryjeńska, known as the ‘princess of Polish painting’.
Author
From the 2018 book ‘Berezowska. Nagość dla Wszystkich’ by Małgorzata Czyńska, trans. MK
Images, pictorial and of a literary character, are unfortunately all that’s left of Ziemiańska. The legendary coffee house ceased to exist when the building housing it was destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising. After World War II, the building at 12 Mazowiecka Street was rebuilt in a different form and Mała Ziemiańska never reopened its doors. One of Warsaw’s most cherished spots was forever wiped off the map.
However, the story of Ziemiańska continues to inspire new generations. The coffeehouse has been described in a number of contemporary books and articles. In the 2010s, a coffeehouse inspired by the Interwar hotspot was opened on Warsaw’s Oleandrów Street. Named simply Mała Ziemiańska, it was furnished in an Interwar style and hosted cultural events like readings of poetry. However, it closed down in 2017. But who knows, perhaps we’ll live to see another reincarnation of the legendary Mała Ziemiańska? Until then…!
Written by Marek Kępa, Mar 21
