RENOMA Department Store is a unique place in Wrocław. Since its opening on 2 April 1930, the building itself has been admired for its exceptional façade, featuring gildings as well as remarkable portrait sculptures depicting the faces of people from different continents. Those were meant to symbolize not only that the goods offered at the store came from different countries, but, above all, the openness to others: respect for people and their views. These timeless values are as important to us as they were to the Wertheim brothers — the founders of RENOMA.
The passage of time and demands of present days called for revitalization of the store. At the same time, the then owner — Centrum Development & Investments —carried out its comprehensive modernization and expansion. The reopening took place in 2009. On the building’s carefully restored façade, one can admire over a hundred portrait sculptures as well as multi-colored, shimmering tiles, partially gilded with genuine gold.
The owner of Renoma is Globalworth Poland Real Estate N.V. (GPRE), a pure-play Polish property platform listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since April 2017 that focuses on Poland’s ascendant office property market. Our portfolio consists of attractive upscale properties, predominantly in the office sector, spanning Warsaw and other major cities across Poland, including Wrocław, Kraków, Łódź, Gdansk and Katowice.
Did you know?
- The area occupied by Renoma was largely undeveloped from the 13th century until the end of the 17th century. It was the foreground of the medieval city fortifications. Świdnicka Street was extended through a wooden bridge, slanting from the Świdnica Gate to the south-east, ending in the place of the present inner courtyard.
- The 3800-ton skeletal “Wertheim” steel framework structure was supplied by “Carlshütte” steelworks of Wałbrzych, which specialized in wide-span steel structures. The main structure, consisting of steel posts, cross-bars and ceramic floor slabs, was erected within a few months. The entire building was completed after only eight months of construction.
- The floor of the southern inner courtyard was lined with African rosewood, the carpets department — with Caucasian walnut, and Makassar ebony was used to furnish the restaurant on the 5th and 6th floor.
- The inner courtyard’s lighting was made up of four giant stalactite-shaped chandeliers attached to the trusses of the glass roof. The restaurant on the 5th and 6th floor accommodated 400 people and its rooms opened to terraces with views of the whole city and the panorama of Karkonosze (the Giant Mountains). One part was a dining room, the other was a dance floor. There was also a special entrance to the roof, leading to a walking terrace, illuminated by miniature lanterns.
- An underground tram line was supposed to run under Świdnicka Street. This was one of the ideas of the “Miastoprojekt” of Wroclaw, when, on the wave of prosperity of the 1970s, the management of “Renoma” planned to carry out comprehensive modernization of the facility.
- Renoma building in Wrocław is the largest historic building of its kind in Poland and the only preserved department store of the pre-war “Wertheim” store chain.