Composers / Fryderyk Chopin / Places catalog

‘Wiejska Kawa’

In eighteenth-century Warsaw, the gardens of Prince Kazimierz Poniatowski were famous for their beauty. The prince was an entertaining person with a penchant for the exotic. His gardens boasted impressive greenhouses and pineries, where some 5,000 pineapples ripened every year.

The best loved part of the prince’s property was the ‘Mountain’, which changed hands several times after his death before eventually being purchased by Mr Chovot, a popular restaurateur, in 1815. It was Chovot who renamed it ‘Góra na Frascati’ [The hill at Frascati], after the town near Rome.

Not far away, on what is now the corner of ul. Wiejska and ul. Górnośląska, was ‘Wiejska Kawa’ [Village coffee], one of Warsaw’s most famous cafés, celebrated for its excellent hot dishes, especially crayfish and asparagus. Being located in a precinct that was perfect for walking meant that it enjoyed huge passing trade. Young people (perhaps including a happy and companionable Fryderyk Chopin) in particular would come to the ‘Wiejska Kawa’ and stay there to enjoy themselves and sing.

The scenic grounds invited settlement. The home of Antonio Corazzi, the famous architect who came to build the capital of the Kingdom of Poland (Congress Poland) at the invitation of Stanisław Staszic, was on ul. Wiejska. There was a garden at the rear of the Corazzi residence. Entry was via a gateway on the Aleje Ujazdowskie side. On the other side of the street, Senator Nikolay Novosiltsov, a thoroughly detested figure in patriotic circles, had his summer residence in the Frascati garden. In his memoirs, Kajetan Koźmian describes Novosiltsov as ‘red-faced, as if covered with leprosy, cross-eyed and eagle-eyed, and already grey’. Adam Mickiewicz depicted Novosiltsov as an incarnation of evil in Part III of Dziady [Forefathers’ Eve].

Place Category
Antoni Brzezina’s bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Antonin Manors / Palaces / Castles
Apartment of Dominik Magnuszewski Flats
Apartment of Stefan Witwicki Flats
Apartment of the family of Alfons Brandt Flats
Augsburg Evangelical Church of the Holy Trinity Churches / Places of worship
Belvedere Appearances
Bielany, Camaldolese monastery Churches / Places of worship
Blue Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
‘Botanika’ Other
Brochów Churches / Places of worship
Brühl Palace Appearances
Buchholtz’s instrument store Other
Casimir Palace Flats
Chopin Monument in Łazienki Park Other
Czapski (Krasiński) Palace Appearances, Manors / Palaces / Castles
Dal Trozzo bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Duszniki Zdrój Hotels / Inns
Dziewanowski home Flats
Engraving studio of Fr Izydor Józef Cybulski and Antoni Płachecki Education
Franciszek Klukowski bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Fryderyk Chopin Museum Other
Fryderyk Skarbek’s apartment Flats
Gdańsk Hotels / Inns
Gładkowskis' apartment Flats
Golub Other
Holy Cross Church Churches / Places of worship
Home of Jan Matuszyński Flats
‘Honoratka’ Coffeehouses
Jabłonowski Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Jan Böhm’s townhouse Flats
Kalisz Other
Kikół Manors / Palaces / Castles
Kolbergs' apartment Flats
Kowalewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Kozłowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Krakow Other
Ludwik Dmuszewski’s house Flats
Magnus's bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Marceli Celiński’s apartment Flats
Maurycy Mochnacki’s home Flats
Miss Kicka's Salon in Lubomirski Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
National Theatre Appearances
Obory Churches / Places of worship
Obrowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Ojców Other
‘Old’ Merchants' Hall Appearances
Patisserie Lourse Coffeehouses
Pieskowa Skała Other
Płock Other
‘Pod Kopciuszkiem’ and ‘Dziurka’ Coffeehouses
Poturzyn Manors / Palaces / Castles
Powązki Cemeteries
Poznań Other
Presbytery of St Jadwiga (Hedwig) parish church in Milanówek Other
Pruszak Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Residence of Józef Reinschmidt’s parents Flats
Rościszewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Sanniki Manors / Palaces / Castles
Saxon Palace Flats
Saxon Post Office Other
Skating rink Other
Sochaczew Other
Sokołowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Staszic Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Strzyżew Manors / Palaces / Castles
Szafarnia Manors / Palaces / Castles
Toruń Other
Turzno Manors / Palaces / Castles
‘U Brzezińskiej’ Coffeehouses
Ugoszcz Manors / Palaces / Castles
Viceroy's Palace Appearances
Vilnius (Wileński) Hotel Hotels / Inns
Visitandine Church of St Joseph Churches / Places of worship
Waplewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Warsaw Other
Warsaw Charitable Society Appearances
Warsaw Conservatory Appearances
‘Wiejska Kawa’ Coffeehouses
Wieliczka Other
Wojciech Żywny’s apartment Flats
Wola Tollhouse Other
Wrocław Appearances
Żelazowa Wola Flats
Żychlin Manors / Palaces / Castles