Turkish Houses, Moorish Smoking Rooms, Harems & Mosques: Eastern Influences in Polish Architecture

palac-w-osieku-fot-radoslaw-jaworski-forum-0429952212-s.jpg, default, Osiek Palace, photo: Radek Jaworski / Forum

From the imagined harems of 18th-century nobles to 20th-century architects sketching minarets for modern Warsaw, Polish architecture has long looked eastward for inspiration. Blending Turkish, Moorish and Indian motifs, these ‘Oriental’ visions reveal not only aesthetic curiosity but also the way Poles once dreamed about the wider world.

‘What we are doing is Indian,’ Adam Tytus Działyński wrote in a letter to his wife, reporting on the construction of their mansion in Kórnik near Poznań. Built between 1843 and 1860, the house took the form of a historicist castle, with its southern façade featuring a central avant-corps topped with turrets and pierced by a niche with an ogival arch. It’s easy to see the inspiration taken from the façade of the Taj Mahal temple in Agra, which, according to Tadeusz S. Jaroszewski, a researcher of 19th-century architecture, was known among Polish magnates, especially from popular engravings.

The origins of Orientalism in Poland

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Kórnik Castle, photo: Łukasz Cynalewski / Agencja Wyborcza

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It is worth noting that the founders, architects and decorators of 18th- and 19th-century mansions were not particularly meticulous in their use of ‘Eastern’ motifs. They freely combined inspirations from the art of Turkey, India, Muslim Spain, Northern Africa and the Middle East. Evidence of this can be found in the fact that spaces decorated in the ‘Eastern’ style were often referred to as ‘Moorish’, regardless of whether they referenced Indian, Turkish or actual Moorish designs. Therefore, the fashion for ‘Oriental’ patterns, which developed most extensively at the end of the 18th and into the 19th century, was a mixture of forms originating from various sources.

What were the inspirations drawn from? Not only from the previously mentioned engravings, but also from other sources. Merchants, collectors, poets, writers and painters eagerly travelled to Spain or the Middle East, bringing back not only design objects (kilims, sculptures, paintings) but also inspirations, ideas and admiration for local art.

As one can see, the meaning of the term ‘the Orient’ in the 19th century was different to today. These days, it might refer to any part of Asia depending on who one was talking to, and can be considered outdated and even offensive. For Poles a hundred and fifty years ago, Oriental ideas and objects came from what we would today call the Middle East and Turkey, much of which was controlled at the time by the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottomans were seen as exciting. Among the wealthy Polish nobility, breeding Arabian horses was fashionable – and these activities served as a pretext for socialising and travelling. References to Middle Eastern culture persisted due to historical events: Turkey was always a significant point of reference in Polish culture. On one hand, there was a sense of superiority over the Ottoman Empire, which had been defeated by John III Sobieski at the Battle of Vienna, but on the other hand, it was from there that models for the nobility’s Sarmatian culture were derived. The exotic appeal of the Islamic world fascinated, as did its decorativeness. Muslim countries were associated with mystery and otherness, which intrigued.

The 19th-century fashion for the exotic

Kórnik Castle, now a museum appreciated for its distinctive architecture and well-preserved interior decor and furnishings, is an excellent example of the decorative use of Oriental patterns. The Działyński family extensively rebuilt the original Kórnik castle – the investor himself, assisted by architect Marian Cybulski, was the co-creator of the building’s transformation project. While Oriental motifs are clearly visible on the southern façade, other parts of the residence embody the neo-Gothic style, featuring a ‘medieval’ tower, battlements and tall windows. Similarly, a rich variety of styles can be observed inside the building, including Oriental ones. The prominent Moorish Hall on the upper floor features appropriately designed portals, parquet floors and stucco work.

Among the few 19th-century interiors preserved to this day in the style known as ‘Moorish’, the Oriental Parlour in the Palace of Karol Scheibler in Łódź (now home to the Museum of Cinematography) is particularly notable. Designed in the 1880s, it was meant to serve as a smoking room, a stylish space for the master of the house and his guests to indulge in their smoking habit. The parlour is elaborately decorated, covered with dense arabesque ornamentation, and the wooden wall panelling is topped with horseshoe-shaped arcades and filled with intricate arabesque patterns. No other part of the mansion features elements originating from the Middle East, which suggests that these types of decorations were mainly regarded as fashionable embellishments, intended to emphasise the hosts’ sense of style and highlight the functions of individual rooms.

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The Palace in Osiek, photo: Radek Jaworski / Forum

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The Palace in Osiek near Bielsko-Biała, preserved to this day, showcases Oriental patterns applied on a grander scale. It was built in the 1830s for Baron Karol Larisch according to the designs of Italian architect Franciszek Maria Lanci. Of all the Polish monuments inspired by Middle Eastern art, the Palace in Osiek exemplifies the most comprehensive use of such patterns, visible both in its structure and its interiors. The building features an asymmetrical silhouette with two towers topped with onion domes, arched windows and an arcaded attic. The ceilings and walls within the palace are entirely covered with paintings and mosaics, predominantly with geometric and floral motifs. Similar decorations are found on wooden elements, staircases and doors. The details include Arabic inscriptions and arabesque motifs typical of the Middle East. The white and blue colour scheme inside the mansion also has an Oriental provenance.

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Some of the Palace in Osiek’s interior, photo: Radek Jaworski / Forum

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Tadeusz S. Jaroszewski, a researcher of 19th-century architecture, identified in the decorations of the Palace in Osiek not only echoes of the owners’ travels to Spain and the Middle East but also references to pattern books, collections of architectural motifs, and details that were widely published in the 19th century. In 1843, one such publication was issued by Adam Idźkowski, an architect highly skilled in incorporating elements of historical styles. In a fairly popular book titled Plany Budowli, Obejmujące Rozmaite Rodzaje Domów, Mieszkań Wiejskich Różnej Wielkości, Kościołów, Gmachów Publicznych, Mostów, Ogrodów, Monumentów i Tym Podobnych Szczegółów w Rozmaitych Stylach Architektury (Plans of Edifices, Including Various Types of Houses, Rural Dwellings of Various Sizes, Churches, Public Buildings, Bridges, Gardens, Monuments and Similar Details in Various Architectural Styles), alongside Gothic, Renaissance and Classicist designs, there appear projects of rural residences whose ornate forms also reveal traces of Oriental motifs.

The 19th-century popularity for Oriental details is illustrated by Tadeusz S. Jaroszewski’s story about Henryk Marconi, a highly regarded architect of the time. This artist, who eagerly juggled elements drawn from historical styles (his designs included the neo-Gothic town hall in Ciechanów, the Potocki Mausoleum in Wilanów, the Neo-Renaissance Hotel Europejski in Warsaw, St. Anne’s Church in Wilanów, the Neoclassical Water Tower in the Saxon Garden in Warsaw, and the sanatorium in Busko-Zdrój), was privately opposed to Orientalism in architecture, considering it ‘bizarre’.

Nonetheless, likely following the principle of ‘the customer is always right’, he designed the Moorish Rooms in the Pac Palace on Miodowa Street in Warsaw (now the seat of the Ministry of Health) and in the palace in Jabłonna, as well as the Moorish bridge in the park near the palace in Natolin. The same architect also designed the reconstruction of the so-called Flemish Gloriette, a garden pavilion on the estate of Princess Izabela Lubomirska-Czartoryska in Mokotów. Built between 1771 and 1785, the park was modernised half a century later at the commission of its new owner, Anna Potocka-Wąsowiczowa. During this renovation, Henryk Marconi transformed the Flemish Gloriette into an elegant ‘castle’ blending Oriental and Neo-Gothic styles. This pavilion remains one of only two buildings preserved to this day, maintained in different styles, that once decorated this romantic landscape.

Earlier echoes: the 18th century & beyond

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The Moorish House on Puławska Street in Warsaw, photo by Michał Dąbrowski

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However, the use of Oriental motifs did not start in the 19th century. Architects had already been incorporating these patterns earlier, often to evoke a sense of exoticism and originality. In 1787, a wooden Turkish House was constructed between the Myślewicki Palace and the Amphitheatre in the Royal Baths Park. It was designed by Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer, one of Stanisław August Poniatowski’s court architects and the designer of the Palace on the Water in the Royal Baths Park. The Turkish House was one of the pavilions that complemented the park’s ‘entertainment offer’ – it contained a dance floor for guests after performances at the Amphitheatre (the building was demolished in the 19th century due to its poor condition). The imam’s house and minaret were also located in Na Książęcem Park – this garden pavilion was designed by Szymon Bogumił Zug, the creator of the entire park layout. This building has not survived to the present day either.

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The palace in Grabki, photo: Jarosław Kubalski / Agencja Wyborcza

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However, another 18th-century building associated with Islamic culture has been well preserved. It is a palace located in Grabki Duże, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. It was constructed for Stanisław Rupniewski according to a design by Franciszek Placidi. Rupniewski was probably taken captive by the Ottomans at a very young age. He returned in 1709 as a newly converted follower of Islam. The palace in Grabki reflects his fascination with Turkish culture. It was built on a unique octagonal plan with two symmetrically attached pavilions. At the centre of the building, there is a two-storey hall covered by an eight-sided roof with dormers and topped with a decorative spire. The remaining parts of the palace contain many small rooms, which has led to a legend that the owner had a harem there. What we know for certain is the purpose of the side pavilions attached to the palace: one served as a tea room, and the other as a prayer room.

Sacred spaces & the modern legacy

The 19th-century fashion for Moorish style led to the construction of yet another type of building, few of which have survived to this day. These were synagogues. As early as the mid-19th century, a trend emerged for building Jewish temples in an Oriental style, originating from the German-speaking regions of Europe. Such architectural forms aimed to communicate that they served communities that migrated to the Old Continent from the East. Another source of inspiration was the idea that biblical descriptions of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem suggested it was also built in the Moorish style. Oriental motifs were used in synagogues in Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, Cologne and Budapest, and later in Bydgoszcz, Tarnów and Łódź, among other places in Poland. Surviving examples of this style include the Tempel Synagogue in Kraków, designed by Ignacy Hercok between 1860 and 1862, and the synagogue in Ostrów Wielkopolski, built between 1857 and 1860 according to a design by Moritz Landé.

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Tempel Synagogue in Kraków, photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC 4.0

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On the map of temples with Oriental motifs, the Armenian Cathedral in Lviv holds a distinctive position. Its history traces back to the 14th century when the first monastery was established in the city to serve the Armenian congregation there (the Armenian rite is one of the Catholic rites, alongside the Latin and Greek rites). Along with the city’s development and as a result of dramatic historical events, the church was often expanded, looted, burned down and rebuilt over the centuries; its architecture reflects both mediaeval (Byzantine) and Baroque styles. Over time, however, the church’s importance diminished, and it began to deteriorate. When the priest Józef Teodorowicz became the Armenian Rite Bishop of Lviv in 1902, he resolved to restore the grandeur of the historic building and, most importantly, to give it an appearance that embodied Armenian culture, which it had lost by becoming similar to Latin churches.

The bishop asked several artists from Lviv and Kraków to create new interior decorations for the church. The Lviv Polytechnic professor and architect Witold Minkiewicz designed, among other things, the altar, the archbishop’s throne and the balustrade surrounding the altar. The painter Jan Henryk de Rosen produced a series of large murals there, including The Beheading of St. John the Baptist, The Annunciation, The Sacrifice of Abraham, The Funeral of St. Odilon, and The Crucifixion.

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The Armenian Cathedral with paintings by Jan Henryk de Rosen, Lviv, photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC 3.0

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He also created stained glass windows that were modern in form yet referenced Armenian art. In 1909, the expansion of the church began: its design was developed by the renowned Kraków architect Franciszek Mączyński, who drew inspiration from the austere architecture of early Christianity and Byzantium. It was thanks to Mączyński that the church vault was decorated with arabesques; the mosaics on the vault and pendentives of the dome were designed in 1912–13 by Józef Mehoffer, who also came here from Kraków (the mosaics depicted the Holy Trinity and the Personifications of Virtues). Although many artists contributed to the reconstruction and extension of the Armenian Cathedral in Lviv (work continued until the outbreak of World War II), it is the works of de Rosen, which secured his career and fame, and Mehoffer that are regarded as the most interesting pieces created there. Their works blend Oriental motifs, derived from Armenian folklore, with highly modern elements – after all, they were created just as Futurism, Cubism and Dadaism were emerging.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, the influence of Oriental art has markedly diminished, and Moorish arches, along with geometric gilded arabesques, no longer inspire architects. Today, Middle Eastern motifs are most commonly seen in the designs of contemporary mosques. The only modern mosque in Poland with a minaret is located in Gdańsk. Built between 1989 and 1990, it features a body topped with a bulbous dome, complemented by a slender, soaring minaret tower with a pointed finial. Another mosque, whose structure clearly echoes Oriental patterns, is situated in the Wilanów district of Warsaw. It is, in fact, a villa adapted for new functions, whose front has the form of an openwork, two-storey arcade with ogee arches and two turrets with onion domes, each crowned with a crescent moon.

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The mosque on Wiertnicza Street in Warsaw, photo: Adrian Grycuk / CC 3.0

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In 1936, the Association of Polish Architects (SARP) organised a competition for designing a mosque in Warsaw, to be built on Mekki Street in Ochota. The first prize was given to a monumental yet very traditional concept by Stanisław Kolendo and Tadeusz Miazka. However, second and third places went to projects of a distinctly different, modern and original nature. One was the work of Marek Leykam, and the other by Maciej Nowicki and Stanisława Sendecka. Both, as highlighted by the competition jury, were entirely new proposals for constructing Oriental-style buildings in the 20th century. Perhaps if one of these projects had been realised, eastern influences in architecture would still be alive today?

_{Source: ‘Orient w Architekturze Polskiej XIX W.’ (The Orient in 19th-Century Polish Architecture) by Tadeusz S. Jaroszewski, from the book ‘Od Klasycyzmu do Nowoczesności. O Architekturze Polskiej XVIII, XIX i XX wieku’ (From Classicism to Modernity. On Polish Architecture of the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries).}

Originally written in Polish, translated by Agnieszka Mistur, Sept 2025

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