Interior of Warsaw's legendary milk bar becomes heritage site

The heritage officer for Masovian Voivodeship, Jakub Lewicki, informed about the decision on Tuesday.

"I have decided to add to the heritage sites register the interior of the former milk bar "Złota Kurka" located in a building at 55/73 Marszałkowska Street, due to the preserved artistic value of the place," Lewicki said.

The interior of the milk bar, located at Warsaw's MDM district (MDM stands for Marszałkowska Dzielnica Mieszkaniowa, which can be translated as Marszałkowska Residential District), was opened in 1952. Since the early 1960s, until 2020, it was home of the "Złota Kurka" milk bar. From the very beginning, the entrance to the bar was decorated with a neon saying "MILK BAR" and showing an image of a milk bottle and a glass, and a cow's head chewing a clover.

The milk bar was closed down in March of last year. Renovation of the interior was launched under guidelines of the preservation office. Under a layer of PVC wall panels, the workers found a set of historic ceramic panels with coloured paintings from the 1950s.

Characteristic decoration elements have been preserved in the downstairs hall. "There are two wall mosaics with animal and floral motives that were made by Hanna Żuławska. In later years, the walls without mosaics were were covered with PVC panels. After this layer was removed, emerged a wall decoration made of ceramic panels size 15x15 centimeters, and a fragment of an openwork railing of the stairs leading to the upper floor" - Warsaw Historic Preservation Office informed at the time.

The uncovered ceramic panels are either plain or patterned. They show animals: cows, goats, lions and birds, as well as floral motives. They were designed by artist Bolesław Książek, and made by artistic handcraft cooperative "Kamionka" in Łysa Góra. The plain panels were most likely made in Radom Technical Ceramics Factory.

"The interior of the former "Złota Kurka" milk bar has a great documentation value as it's one of a very few so completely preserved service premises dating back to the period in which the MDM district was constructed. The spatial layout of the premises, along with its decor, are relics of the design concept, aesthetics, and artistic creativity of the social realism period of the 1950s," Lewicki said.

The decoration composed of approx. 400 panels is a unique collection of finishing ceramics characterised by individual aesthethic expression," he added.