Krupówki without an entry in the register of monuments, and Zakopane without a municipal conservator. The Małopolska voivode has terminated the contract of the Municipal Conservator of Monuments in Zakopane, so that the "capital of the Tatra Mountains" will be deprived of its local equivalent of the Provincial Conservator of Monuments. Why such a decision? Who will take over the duties of the Zakopane conservator?
Zakopane has had a Municipal Conservator of Monuments since 2010, when the city signed an agreement with Krakow's WUOZ. Zakopane's Municipal Conservator of Monuments is currently Cezary Michno, who will be able to use his current powers until December 31, 2025, when a slightly later agreement of a similar nature, concluded in 2017, will cease to apply. This one, at the request of the director of the provincial conservator of monuments, was terminated by Małopolska Voivode Krzysztof Klęczar. According to media reports, the decision was influenced by the nature of cooperation between the Provincial Office for Monument Protection in Krakow and the MKZ in Zakopane.
There was an analysis of the scope of the agreements issued, how they are issued, what is agreed upon, what the deadlines are. There was a lot of ambiguity in terms of competence and conduct of proceedings. That is, often the municipal conservator encroached on the competence of the provincial conservator
- explains Katarzyna Urbanska, Malopolska Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments in an interview with Radio Krakow.
Although the office of the Municipal Conservator of Monuments in Zakopane will continue to function, with the end of the agreement between the city and the Malopolska authorities, its role will be severely limited, and residents will deal with matters at the delegation of the Provincial Conservator of Monuments in Nowy Targ.
Krupówki will not be a monument
Zakopane was denied not only the Municipal Conservator of Monuments, but also the listing of the well-known site. In 2023, the city authorities applied for the famous Krupówki to be entered in the register of historical monuments in order to protect its pre-war character from further degradation, the following as a result of the numerous development projects being built there. The final decision had to wait two years and, to the surprise of Zakopane authorities, it was negative. The refusal to register one of Poland's most famous promenades came on October 7, 2025. This was an excerpt from the justification provided by Onet for the refusal to enter Krupówki Street in the Register of Historic Places:
Krupówki Street in Zakopane, which is one of the most recognizable public spaces in Poland, has undergone significant urban, architectural and functional transformations over the past decades. The current character of the street largely deviates from the original spatial and aesthetic structure. Significant interference with the historic urban fabric, domination of commercial functions, lack of stylistic homogeneity, blurring of authenticity values - these are the main reasons why the MKWZ ruled as in the introduction.
