House no. 56, The Golden House
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House No. 56The word "golden" reoccurring in historical sources and the mentions of huge mortgages taken out on the house suggest that it might have been one of Poznań's most magnificent houses. This comes as no surprise since it belonged to the city's wealthiest men.
From 1461 the house was in the hands of mayor Jerzy Bok, who built his fortune from long-distance trade and by extending loans (the King Kazimierz Jagiellończyk was among his clients). However, he was not averse to enjoying the revenues from the baths located in Woźna Street.
In 1569 the house was purchased by governor Stanisław Górka, the last male descendant of this renowned Wielkopolska family. Labelled by historians a "typical lordly troublemaker", he went down in Poznań history as the founder of the small town of Szczepankowo, which was later incorporated into the city as the suburb of St. Roch. Among their many duties, the citizens of Szczepankowo were obliged to come to his rescue if his house were to catch fire. In the late eighteenth century the house was purchased by Jan Jakub Klug.
Completely destroyed during the war, the building was restored from scratch in the late Renaissance style and houses the Poznań branch of the Polish Architects' Association.