Chudów (, , ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Poland, located in

Gliwice County __NOTOC__ Gliwice County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. It ...

, within the municipality of

Gmina Gierałtowice __NOTOC__ Gmina Gierałtowice is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Gliwice County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the village of Gierałtowice, which lies approximately south-east of Gliwice and west of the reg ...

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...

, in the historical region of

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. It lies approximately east of Gierałtowice, south-east of

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

, and west of the regional capital,

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

. From 1945 to 1954, Chudów was the seat of the Chudów commune. From 1954 to 1972, the village belonged to and was the seat of the Chudów administrative district. From 1975 to 1998, the village was administratively part of the

Katowice Voivodeship Katowice Voivodeship () can refer to one of two political entities in Poland: Katowice Voivodeship (1), initially "Silesian-Dabrowa Voivodeship" (), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the years 1946–1975. It was super ...

History

The village was first mentioned between 1295–1305 as ''Cudow'', attested in the Latin manuscript ''

Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis (, 'Book of endowments of the Bishopric of Wrocław') is a Latin manuscript catalog of documents compiled in the later 13th or in the early 14th century. It lists towns and villages obliged to pay a tithe to the Bishopric of Wrocław. As a pr ...

'' (

Tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

Register of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Breslau). In 1466 it was mentioned as ''Chudorf''. Over the course of history, Chudów, located in the historical and geographical region of

(specifically

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

), has experienced various changes in political control, sovereignty, and culture. From its early history, the region was part of the states

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

and the

Duchy of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia, also later referred to in English as the Czech Duchy, (Old Czech: ) was a monarchy and a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages, Early and High M ...

. It transitioned from Polish rule under

Mieszko I Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...

and the

Duchy of Silesia The Duchy of Silesia (, ) with its capital at Wrocław was a medieval provincial duchy of Poland located in the region of Silesia. Soon after it was formed under the Piast dynasty in 1138, it fragmented into various Silesian duchies. In 1327, t ...

to the

Lands of the Bohemian Crown The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were the states in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval and early modern periods with feudalism, feudal obligations to the List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemian kings. The crown lands primarily consisted o ...

under the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, forming the

Duchies of Silesia The Duchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region of Silesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of the Duchy of Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1335, the duchies were ceded to the King ...

and later the

Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia Austrian Silesia, officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Habsburg monarchy (from 1804 the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 the Cisleithanian portion of Austria-Hungary). It is la ...

under

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

rule. Eventually, it became the

Province of Silesia The Province of Silesia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as ...

under German

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

rule. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the region was divided between

Weimar Germany The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

and the newly re-established state of Poland (the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

). Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, most of the region was transferred to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. These changes reflected the region's strategic importance, the shifting political landscape, and the evolving cultural influences of

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

throughout history. Over the centuries, the village has been known by various names, including Cudow, Hudow, Chudoba, Khudow, Kudow, Chudow, Chutow, and finally Chudów. At the time, the historical and strategic main route from the city of Breslau to the former capital of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

crossed the Chudów dominion.

15th century

According to historical sources, the first confirmed owner of Chudów was the nobleman Johannes de Hodow, who appears as one of the judges in a record dated 15 October 1434.Foundation Castle Chudów (Polish ''Fundacja Zamek Chudów'') (in Polish)
/ref> He was the representative of

Wenceslaus I, Duke of Cieszyn Wenceslaus I of Cieszyn (, , ; 1413/18 – 1474), was a Duke of Cieszyn from 1431 (until 1442 with his brothers as co-rulers), Duke of half of Bytom during 1431–1452 (returned to him soon after until 1459) and Duke of Siewierz (until 1443). He w ...

in the dispute between Silesia and Jagiellonian-ruled Poland. Documents from 1459 mention the nobleman Jan Sudiss von Khodow as the owner of the rural village estate when Chudów was part of the

Duchy of Bytom The Duchy of Bytom (, , ) was a duchy in Upper Silesia, one of the Duchies of Silesia, Silesian duchies of fragmented Piast dynasty, Piast-ruled Poland. It was established in Upper Silesia about 1281 during the division of the Duchy of Opole and Ra ...

. In 1483, the nobleman Mikulasz Chudowsky is recorded as the owner. Archaeological research indicates that in the 15th century, a wooden, tower-like fortified castle structure was erected on a small, partially artificially enlarged island, elevated and measuring around 30–40 meters in diameter, similar to a wooden motte castle. The island was surrounded by a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

, adding an extra layer of defence. The tower, which served both as a defence and a residence, was surrounded by a

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

and reinforced around the edges of the island with a

stockade A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall. Etymology ''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...

(a section of the palisade and reinforcements were discovered during prior research). This tower was probably destroyed by fire at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries.

16th to 17th century

The domain of Chudów was an

allod Allod, deriving from Frankish language, Frankish ''alōd'' meaning "full ownership" (from ''al'' "full, whole" and ''ōd'' "property, possession"; Medieval Latin ''allod'' or ''allodium''), also known as allodial land or proprietary property, was ...

ial estate purchased in 1532 by the Roman-German

n House of Saszowski, who bore the Saszor coat of arms and were recognised as one of the most eminent and affluent

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

families in

. Among many other manors, they already owned the neighbouring manor of Gierałtowice.Castle Chudów (Polish ''Zamek w Chudowie'') (in Polish)
/ref> Chudów is famous for its 16th-century

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

stone

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

residence, which replaced the earlier wooden tower castle. This transformation was initiated by the nobleman and scion Jan Saszowski von Geraltowitz (also known as ''Jan Geraltowsky'' in German and ''Jan Gierałtowski'' in Polish).Chudów Castle Foundation (in Polish)
The castle was built in at least two phases. Based on research, it was established that the first structure was the tower, to which the so-called manor house was later added on the southeast side. Simultaneously or shortly after its construction, a service building was erected on the northwest side. Foundations and parts of the ground floor of stone pillars, which formed the basis of the arcades' structure, were also discovered. The manor house had two floors, with the first floor covered by a

barrel vault A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

, divided into three rooms on the lower floor. The northeasternmost room was the castle kitchen – parts of the pillars, probably supporting the hood over the stove, and a stone gutter used to drain kitchen waste outside, have been preserved. The northwest wing was divided into two rooms, and its lower floor was also covered by a barrel vault; it is possible that the building had three storeys. Inside the castle, there was a rectangular

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

surrounded by covered arcades and a

well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

in the centre. This courtyard was created by building a curtain wall or another building that closed off the space between the manor house and the service building from the northeast. The lordship remained part of the House of Saszowski estates for over a hundred years and served as a residence for multiple generations of its branch scions, known as Geraltowsky von Geraltowitz (in Polish: Gierałtowski z Gieraltowic). Historical sources say it was one of the most magnificent castle residences in

, hosting many

banquet A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes inc ...

s and sport

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

activities attended by the

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

. In later times, the estate had its own castle

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

and

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

. The original entrance to the castle was via a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

over the

, which led directly to the second floor of the castle tower. Following the death in 1633 of Joanna Geraltowska von Geraltowitz (née Sedlnitzka, Sedlnická), who had inherited Chudow in 1622 as the widowed wife of her first husband, Wenzel the Younger Geraltowsky von Geraltowitz, her nephew Johann Skal von Elgot continued to manage the manorial estate Chudow and the brief guardianship of her only child, a young daughter (Beata Elisabeth), born from her second marriage to the late Karl Pražma (†1628), Lord of Wagstadt (Bílkov). In 1669, the village manorial estate changed owners twice. By 1687, it was listed as the property of Baron Jerzy von Welczek, governor of the

Duchy of Opole and Racibórz The Duchy of Opole and Racibórz (, ) was one of the numerous Duchies of Silesia ruled by the Silesian branch of the royal Polish Piast dynasty. It was formed in 1202 from the union of the Upper Silesian duchies of Opole and the Racibórz, in a ra ...

(''Herzogtum Oppeln und Ratibor''). Between 1687 and 1704, the manor was owned by the noblewoman Anna Zuzanna von Reuthen, who then transferred the estate to the nobleman Jerzy Franciszek von Holly.

Area of lordship

The

lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of eco ...

consisted of the manors of Chudow Castle, Chudow village, and the villages of Klein Paniow and Antheil Neudorf, and the farm outworks ('' Vorwerks''): Schlosshof, Dorfhof, Grosshof, Wallhof, Wachhof, Neuhof, and Ballhof. The land area covered 3,965

morgen A Morgen (Mg) is a historical, but still occasionally used, German unit of area used in agriculture. Officially, it is no longer in use, having been supplanted by the hectare. While today it is approximately equivalent to the Prussian ''morgen' ...

s (approx. 991.25

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. A ...

) and, in total, 7,000 morgens (approx. 1,750 hectares) of dominial, jurisdictional, and hunting territory. This amounted to approximately . The area included 2,600 morgens of

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

(approx. 650 hectares), 565 morgens of

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

(approx. 141.25 hectares), 310 morgens of

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

(approx. 77.5 hectares), and 440 morgens of

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

ponds A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression, either naturally or artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing the two, although defining a pond t ...

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

land, and

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, Clay minerals, clays, and silt. When Lithification, hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. M ...

pits (approx. 110 hectares).

18th century to present-day

In 1706, the new owners of the village manorial estate were the . After 1768, the estate changed owners quite often, losing in importance. In 1837, the estate's owner, the German jurist and administrator of the

Duchy of Racibórz Duchy of Racibórz (, , ) was one of the duchies of Silesia, formed during the medieval fragmentation of Poland into provincial duchies. Its capital was Racibórz in Upper Silesia. States and territories disestablished in the 1200s States and ...

(''Herzogtum Ratibor''), , made several alterations to the original design of the castle, irretrievably losing its original Renaissance form. Von Bally lost his assets as a result of bad investments related to the exploration of hard coal deposits, and in 1844 his estates were transferred to auction. The castle suffered severe fire damage in 1875, and its last owner,

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

Hans Ulrich Gotthardt von Schaffgotsch, left it as a picturesque ruin. Abandoned to ruin since the late 19th century, only parts of the walls, the four-sided tower, and the outline of the

survived to the present day. Since 1966, the castle ruin has been registered under No. A/568, categorized as of significant cultural value and tracked as an object of cultural heritage in Poland by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

Alexander Duncker Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm Duncker (February 18, 1813 – August 23, 1879) was a German publisher and bookseller. Life and family He was descended from a successful Berlin family of booksellers, born in Berlin, the son of Carl Friedrich Wilhelm ...

's illustration of the castle is the only known

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

of the castle between 1859 and 1860. It depicts the castle after several alterations made by Alexander von Bally in the first half of the 19th century, which changed its original Renaissance form. In 1995, the newly founded Chudów Castle Foundation assumed gradual restoration work. In a restored tower, there is a small museum showcasing one of the most interesting exhibitions of ceramic

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Gothic

cocklestove A masonry heater (also called a masonry stove) is a device for warming an interior space through radiant heating, by capturing the heat from periodic burning of fuel (usually wood), and then radiating the heat at a fairly constant temperature fo ...

tiles found in Poland. These tiles were discovered on the castle grounds during restoration works and archaeological excavations. Since 2000, the Chudów Castle Foundation has organized an annual medieval fair in August, featuring

historical reenactment Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historical uniforms and follow a plan to recreate aspects of a histor ...

s of medieval tournaments and

warfare War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

on the Chudów castle grounds.

Gallery

File:Chudów, spichlerz dworski, widok od pd-zach..JPG, Chudów, Wiejska Street - manor

granary A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...

, from the 18th century, brick construction (monument number A/569/66) File:Chudów kościół 2 24.05.2009 p.jpg, Church of Our Lady Queen of Angels in Chudów (in Polish: Kościół NMP Królowej Aniołów w Chudowie)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

Chudów Castle (Polish ''Zamek w Chudowie'') (in Polish)

Chudów Castle Foundation
(in English) {{Authority control Castles in Silesian Voivodeship Former castles in Poland Tourist attractions in Silesian Voivodeship Ruined castles in Poland Renaissance castles Villages in Gliwice County