About This Location
Stand on Długa Street and take in the scene - this is the Long Lane, the most representative stretch of Gdańsk’s historic center and a key part of the Royal Route. Behind you sits the Golden Gate, and ahead the street opens toward the Long Market, lined with rebuilt merchant houses in the style that made the city famous. Now stop at number twelve. This is Uphagen’s House - Dom Uphagena - named after its best-known owner, Johann Uphagen. He bought the property in 1775 and reshaped it to match the tastes of a wealthy eighteenth-century citizen. Look at the facade: the Rococo portal and the date high above it are part of that statement, showing off both fashion and status. Focus on the entrance details. The house is still proud of its owners - the portal carries the Uphagen family coat of arms, and above the door the transom includes a monogram linked to Johann and his wife Abigail. Small details like these were not “decoration” - they were public identity, placed right where every visitor had to notice. This address is special because it is a rare kind of museum. Dom Uphagena is the only eighteenth-century bourgeois townhouse in Poland open to visitors, and one of only a few in Europe where you can walk through rooms arranged like a real home. The building suffered heavy damage in 1945 and was rebuilt after the war, then opened to the public as a museum again in 1998. Picture the life behind these walls. Upstairs were spaces meant to impress - salons and dining rooms with richly paneled walls, painted scenes, and tiled stoves that held warmth through long Baltic winters. Deeper in the layout were practical rooms for work and planning, including the old “kantor” - the business heart of a merchant household. And out back, the service wing hid the everyday engine of the house: kitchen, pantry, and staff spaces, kept out of sight of guests on purpose.