It was built as early as the 15th century on the biggest plot of land in the town square, and the first written record of it comes from 1496. It owes its beauty to the height of the Renaissance when, in the middle of the 16th century, it gained the four engaged Ionic columns in the arcade and the typical Renaissance portal. The portal’s semicircular arch rests on decorative pillars and bears a shield with the Polish Eagle and the letter S. It is thought to signify the Polish monarch Sigismund (Latin Sigismundus) the Old. The keystone of the arch bears a house mark with the letters I and S, linked either to Hieronim (Ieronim) Stano – Krosno town councillor ennobled in 1535, one of the most eminent owners of the house – or to the builder from Krosno Jan Schelnar.

The name Vogt’s House can be misleading, because at the time when the house gained its Renaissance appearance, Krosno did not have a Vogt in anymore. To be more precise, there was no Vogt in the historic sense of the town’s feudal lord’s representative who would act as a judge and hold numerous privileges. Historically, a town’s first Vogt was usually the so called locator, the man responsible for establishing the town, and the title was passed on to his heirs. Like any personal possession, the title could be freely sold and the title of the Vogt of Krosno was bought and sold many times. It was held, among others, by the most powerful family of the region, the Kamienieckis, and the family who quarrelled with them for the castle, the Boners. 

The Vogt (Latin advocatus) was a representative of the state rather than the local government, as is the case today. The local government at the time consisted of the mayor and the town council, who functioned in Krosno already at the end of the 15th century and had jurisdiction over a wide range of the town’s matters. The townspeople could appeal to the king, that is his representative in town – the Vogt – about the councillors’ decisions. This, of course, limited the activity of the mayor and the council, so they strived to abolish the title. The only legal way to achieve this was to buy the title, with all the possessions, rights and responsibilities attached to it. Sure enough, in 1523, with the permission of Sigismund I the Old, the town council bought the Vogt’s title from Seweryn Boner for 2400 florins. It was well worth it, as with gaining its independence the town also took over the Vogt’s income. The Vogt was entitled to special payments; for example, bakers in Krosno paid him 6 florins a year, shoemakers paid 13 florins, all the gardens brought the Vogt 90 florins, and the propination laws (the licence to produce and sell alcohol) brought him as much as 200 florins. By buying the title, the town became directly subordinate to the king, took over the entire legal system, and its court could pronounce sentences in the name of the king. The customary head of the court was still titled Vogt, only now he was not a feudal Vogt but one of the town councillors or clerks, appointed by the town council the Court Vogt, and it is from the people holding this dignified title that this unique house received its name.

Source: City Office of Krosno http://visitkrosno.pl/en/ .