Forum Hotel
Kraków Monuments
A former hotel at Marii Konopnickiej Street 28 in the Ludwinów district, an example of late modernist architecture in Poland, designed by Janusz Ingarden with his team. The design was prepared in 1973-1977, construction began in 1978, and the official opening took place on 15 May 1988; the first guests included a delegation of Soviet authorities with Mikhail Gorbachev. The hotel had 278 rooms and operated until 10 November 2002, after which the building took on other commercial uses. Admire it from the outside.
History
Hotel Forum at Marii Konopnickiej Street 28, in the Ludwinów district, is an example of late Modernist architecture in Poland. It was designed by Janusz Ingarden and his team. The design work took place in 1973-1977, construction began in 1978 and was only completed ten years later, as it was interrupted by the economic crisis of the 1980s. The official opening took place on 15 May 1988, and among the first guests was a Soviet delegation including Mikhail Gorbachev.
The hotel's body is curved, has seven storeys and rests on six pairs of reinforced concrete columns. The ground floor was given over to conference rooms and restaurants, the upper floors to guest rooms, and the set-back top storey to a panoramic café. The facade facing the Vistula was shaped as terraces with loggias, while the southern one is dominated by a monumental wall with rhythmic bands of windows. Concrete, glass and ceramic elements were used.
When it opened, it was one of the most modern buildings in the city. The four-star hotel offered 278 rooms, including fifteen suites, and inside there were two restaurants, a swimming pool, a sauna, tennis courts, minigolf, a casino and six conference rooms for up to 600 people. From 1 January 2001 it operated under the Sofitel brand, and on 10 November 2002 it was closed. A technical reason was given at the time: the foundations were soaking up water and the basements were being flooded by the Vistula flowing nearby.
Later the building took on other commercial uses: from 2013 the Forum Przestrzenie club-café, from 2019 a dance school, from 2020 Hala Forum, and the top floor is occupied by the Forum Panorama venue. The building was listed in Kraków's spatial development study as an Asset of Contemporary Culture. In June 2024 work began behind the scenes on placing the building under heritage protection. The application for entry in the register of monuments was submitted by the Kraków branch of the Association of Polish Architects (SARP), which considers Forum one of the most important examples of late Modernism and Brutalism in the country. In a 2025 opinion, the National Heritage Board of Poland found that protecting the building is nothing short of a necessity.
Did you know?
After the hotel closed, its wall served for well over a decade as the largest billboard in Poland. For the 1980s the hotel also had plenty of novelties: photocell-operated doors, automatic toilet flushing and an external electronic clock with a thermometer and calendar.