| Bobolice Royal Castle | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Polish Gothic |
| Town or city | Bobolice |
| Country | Poland |
| Construction started | 14th century |
| Demolished | 1587, 1657 |
| Client | Casimir III the Great |
The Bobolice Castle is a 14th-century royal castle in the village of Bobolice, Poland. The complex is located within a semi-mountainous highland region called the Polish Jura.
The castle in Bobolice was built by King Casimir III the Great in the middle of the 14th century, probably in place of an earlier wooden structure. [1] The castle was a part of the defence system of royal strongholds protecting the western border of Poland on the side of Silesia. In 1370, immediately after becoming King of Poland, Louis I the Great granted the castle to Władysław Opolczyk, Duke of Opole, as a prize for his support of the king’s dynastic plans. [1] Nine years later Opolczyk leased the castle to Andrzej Schoen, a Hungarian from Barbalas; the new owner manned it with Germans and Czechs, who robbed local inhabitants and conspired with the Teutonic Order. [2] Dissatisfied with their behaviour, the Polish king Władysław Jagiełło invaded Bobolice in 1396 and took over the castle with adjacent estates. [2] From that time on, the stronghold was owned by a number of families, including Dołęga (Dołęga coat of arms), Szafrańcowie, Trestkowie, Krezowie (Ostoja coat of arms; owners from 1486) and later Chodakowscy, Męcińscy and Myszkowscy (Jastrzębiec coat of arms; owners of the neighbouring Mirów Castle). At Bobolice castle, the gentle crest Dołęga (Dołęga coat of arms), is placed above the gate stronghold.
According to 15th century chronicles, a representative of the Krezowie family captured and imprisoned his niece in the Bobolice Castle. She is still said to haunt the stronghold as a lady in white. There is also a tale about two twin brothers, owners of castles in Mirów and Bobolice. [1] Legend has it that they dug a tunnel between the two strongholds so that they could often meet tête à tête. One day they came into possession of a big treasure – they hid it in the tunnel and put an odious-looking witch on guard to deter any potential thieves. [1] The brothers understood each other perfectly and could go through fire and water for each other. However, their friendship was put to a difficult test, when one brother brought a beautiful girl from his war expedition. [1] Suspecting that his twin brother may have fallen in love with the girl, he locked her in the cellar near the treasure. One day, during the absence of the witch, who was attending a witches’ sabbath at the Bald Mount, he caught the pair of lovers in the vault. He got angry, murdered his brother and bricked up the girl in the castle dungeons. [1] The ghost of the girl is still said to haunt the castle tower.
The beginning of the decline of the castle dates back to 1587, when it was heavily devastated during the invasion of Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria, a rival of Sigismund III Vasa to the Polish throne. [2] The castle was reconstructed by the then owners, the Krezowie family, but in 1657, during the Deluge, it was plundered and totally ruined by Swedish troops. [2] The condition of the stronghold was so bad that when King John III Sobieski arrived here in 1683, he had to spend the night in a tent. [2]
In the 19th century a huge treasure was found in stronghold cellars. [2] It is supposed that its part may be stored in the legendary tunnel between Bobolice and Mirów. In 1882, after parcelling out the land, the already deserted walls were acquired by the peasant family of Baryłów. Now the castle belongs to the Lasecki family, who decided to rebuild it in 1999.
The castle is situated on a steep rocky hill (360 m above sea level). Up till now, only the upper part of the stronghold (the residential building with at least two storeys and remnants of the cylindrical wall tower) has survived. The castle was accessible through a drawbridge over the dry moat, and the entire construction was surrounded by walls with battlements, made of local white limestone. Currently reconstruction works are under way in order to restore the entrance gate and the circumferential wall around the castle grounds.
The Piast dynasty was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I. The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great.
The Royal Castle in Warsaw is a royal residence that formerly served throughout the centuries as the official home of Polish monarchs. It is situated in Castle Square, at the entrance to the Warsaw Old Town. The personal offices of the king and the administrative offices of the royal court were located in the Castle from the 16th century until the final partition of Poland in 1795.
Dołęga is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several szlachta families in the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Półkozic - is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several szlachta families in the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Tarnowski is the surname of a Polish noble and aristocratic family. Because Polish adjectives have different forms for the genders, Tarnowska is the form for a female family member.
The Wawel Royal Castle is a castle residency located in central Kraków, Poland, and the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the world. Built at the behest of King Casimir III the Great, it consists of a number of structures from different periods situated around the Italian-styled main courtyard. The castle, being one of the largest in Poland, represents nearly all European architectural styles of medieval, renaissance and baroque periods. The Wawel Royal Castle and the Wawel Hill constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in the country.
Pieskowa Skała, is a limestone cliff in the valley of river Prądnik, Poland, best known for its Renaissance castle. It is located within the boundaries of the Ojców National Park, 27 km north of Kraków, close to the village of Sułoszowa. The castle was first mentioned in Latin documents of Polish king Władysław I the Elbow-high before 1315, as "castrum Peskenstein".
Sielecki Castle is a castle in the city of Sosnowiec in southern Poland, located in the Sielc district. The castle is located on the left bank of the Czarna Przemsza River. It was built in the 17th century and it is the oldest building in the city.
The Royal Castle in Poznań dates from 1249 and the reign of Przemysł I. Located in the Polish city of Poznań, it was largely destroyed during the Second World War but has since been partly rebuilt.
Bochotnica is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kazimierz Dolny, within Puławy County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It lies in historic province of Lesser Poland, approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) north-east of Kazimierz Dolny, 10 km (6 mi) south of Puławy, and 42 km (26 mi) west of the regional capital Lublin. The village has a population of 1,000, and is located on the right bank of the Vistula, on the road between Puławy and Kazimierz Dolny. The ruins of a 14th-century castle are located nearby.
Chęciny(listen) is a town in Kielce County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, southern Poland, with 4,252 inhabitants (2006). It was first mentioned in historical documents from 1275, and obtained its city charter in 1325. At that time was one of major urban centers of northern Lesser Poland. The most important sight in Chęciny is the royal castle built in the late 13th or early 14th century on the Castle Hill above the town. It fell into a ruin in the 18th century and remains in that state to this day. For centuries Chęciny had a Jewish community and it had been the center of the Hasidic Chentshin dynasty,
Chęciny Royal Castle was built in the late 13th century in Chęciny, Poland. It fell into ruin in the 18th century and remains in that state to this day.
The Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, also known as the Polish Jurassic Highland or Polish Jura, is part of the Jurassic System of south–central Poland, stretching between the cities of Kraków, Częstochowa and Wieluń. The Polish Jura borders the Lesser Polish Upland to the north and east, the foothills of the Western Carpathians to the south and Silesian Upland to the west.
Klemens Kurowski from Drożojewice and Kurów - polish nobleman and senator.
The Grunwald Swords were a mocking "gift" sent by Ulrich von Jungingen, the Grand Master of the Order of Teutonic Knights, to King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland and Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania on 15 July 1410, just before the Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg). The gift, a pair of simple bare swords, was a symbolic invitation to engage Jungingen's forces in battle. After the Polish–Lithuanian victory, both swords were taken as a war trophy by King Władysław II to Kraków, Poland's capital at the time, and placed in the treasury of the Royal Wawel Castle.
Bolko IV of Opole, was a Duke of Strzelce and Niemodlin during 1382–1400, Duke of Opole from 1396.
The Jagiellonian tapestries, are a collection of tapestries woven in the Netherlands and Flanders, which originally consisted of 365 pieces assembled by the Jagiellons to decorate the interiors of the royal Wawel Castle in Kraków, Poland. The collection is also collectively known as the Wawel Arrasses, as the majority of the preserved fabrics are in the possession of the Wawel Castle Museum and the French city of Arras, which was once a manufacturing centre of this kind of wall decoration in the beginning of the 16th century. The works became state property of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland according to the will of Sigismund II Augustus.
Tenczyn Castle, also known as Tęczyn Castle, is a medieval castle in the village of Rudno in the Polish Jura, Poland. It was built as a seat of the powerful Tęczyński family. The castle fell into disrepair during the Deluge in mid-17th century, after being pillaged and burned by Swedish-Brandenburgian forces looking for the Polish Crown Jewels and rumored treasures of the Tęczyński family. Subsequently rebuilt, it again fell into disrepair after a major fire in the mid-18th century and remains in that state to this day.
Ojców Castle - a castle located in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, part of a system of castles known as the Eagle's Nests - formerly protecting the southern border of the Kingdom of Poland; currently housing a museum dedicated to the castle in its renovated castle-tower. The castle is located in the village of Ojców, Lesser Poland Voivodeship; in Poland.
Olsztyn Castle – castle ruins located in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, lying on the Trail of the Eagles' Nests – formerly protecting the southern border of the Kingdom of Poland. The ruins of the 14th-century castle are one of the biggest attractions of the area.
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bobolice Castle . |
