The Villa of Oskar Schindler

The Villa of Oskar Schindler is a late-19th-century villa building at Romanowicza 9 in the Zabłocie district of Kraków. Built in 1898, it originally served an administrative and residential function connected to local industrial activity in the area before World War II.

After Oskar Schindler moved to Kraków in October 1939, the villa became associated with his wartime operations. It is commonly described as the place where Schindler lived and worked while running Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik (DEF) at nearby Lipowa 4. Schindler’s control of the factory began in the early occupation period, and the Romanowicza 9 address is documented in connection with the leased factory buildings and administrative premises linked to his operation in Zabłocie.

Unlike the Enamel Factory museum at Lipowa 4, the villa does not function as a primary exhibition site. Its significance is mainly contextual: it is part of the physical landscape tied to Schindler’s Kraków period and the wider occupation-era industrial zone connected to forced labour and persecution. The building has also been noted in recent years due to its deteriorated condition and later redevelopment and restoration plans, reflecting ongoing debates about preservation and reuse of occupation-linked sites in a rapidly changing district.