Every guidebook that has information about Gdansk recommends one see Artus Court. I surely didn't know what to expect. The In-Your-Pocket guidebook says this mansion is representative of the city's power in the 16-17th centuries. It was a place for rich patricians to conduct business. After a fire in 1841 it was given a more Gothic form.
The main hall is beyond beautiful. Everywhere one looks there is breath-taking beauty. A major feature is a stove that is about 10.5 meters tall. Each tile in the stove is different.
The four walls of the room hold chairs.
As can be see all the wall surfaces above the chairs are covered with paintings.
It wasn't until I got around to the fourth side that I realized that the back of each seat opens to what appears to be a safe in which to place documents or valuables. And of course the inside the door is decorated, so that beauty continues when the door is open.
Notice the decoration on each supporting column as well as the exquisite wood working.
Something I had never seen before is the addition of a sculpture to a painting.
My photos do not do justice to the beauty of this mansion.
The second floor of the mansion is area for education of children.
Here is a knight's tent.
And in the middle of the room -- a roundtable.
I've heard of King Arthur and the Round Table many times, but had no idea this is what it might have looked like.
When starting to exit the building, one passes by a poster that shows how a tenement mansion looked.
In the U.S. tenement is almost synonymous with slum. Well, the original meaning was anything but a slum.
Outside there is a small exhibit of actual parts of a tenement building. The above a stone from a terrace.
I really enjoyed seeing this treasure.
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