Melsztyn is a village on the left bank of the

Dunajec The Dunajec (); Goral dialects: ''Dónajec'') is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at t ...

river in the

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship or Lesser Poland Province (in pl, województwo małopolskie ), also known as Małopolska, is a voivodeship (province), in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). It was created on 1 ...

, Poland. It lies approximately north-west of

Zakliczyn Zakliczyn is a town in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 1,558 (2006). Zakliczyn lies on the right bank of the Dunajec river, surrounded by wooded hills above sea level. Zakliczyn has a town hall, located ...

, south-west of

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn� ...

, and east of the regional capital

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

. The village was first mentioned in the year 1347. The name of the village is a Polonized version of a German word ''Mehlstein''. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Melsztyn belonged to a famous nobleman

Spytek of Melsztyn Spycimir, also Spyćmier, Spyćmir, Spyćmierz, Spićymierz, etc., is an old Polish masculine given name. Etymology: ''spyci-'': "in vain", ''-mir'': "peace". Diminutives: Spytko, Spytek. Its name day is 26 April.Bogdan Kupis, ''Nasze imiona'', 1991 ...

, who built a castle on a hill. The castle stood for hundreds of years, and was burned in 1771, during the

Bar Confederation The Bar Confederation ( pl, Konfederacja barska; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles ( szlachta) formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia (now part of Ukraine) in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polis ...

, as Polish rebels fought the Russians here. Among the owners of Melsztyn were the noble families of Tarnowski, Jordan, Zborowski, Tarło and Lubomirski. The Melsztyn Castle is a ruin now, with an excellent view of the surrounding area.

See also