The ruins of Czorsztyn Castle () are located in the southernmost part of Poland in

Czorsztyn Czorsztyn (German: ''Schorstin'') is a village in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Nowy Targ County. The village lies in Pieniny, the mountain range on the current Polish- Slovak border. It is famous for the ruins of a 14th-17th-century c ...

(

Nowy Targ County Nowy Targ County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland, on the Slovak border. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government refor ...

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

), at Czorsztyn Lake within Pieniny National Park borders. On the other side of the Czorsztyn Lake is located

Niedzica Castle Niedzica Castle, also known as Dunajec Castle (, , , ), is located in the southernmost part of Poland in Niedzica (Nowy Targ County in Lesser Poland). It was erected between the years 1320 and 1326 by Kokos of Brezovica on the site of an ancient ...

History

The Czorsztyn Castle stands at the top of the hill nearby

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 ...

. According to

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

, in 1246 the owner of the castle was Piotr Wydżga.Jan Długosz: ''Liber beneficiorum dioecesis Cracoviensis'' (1470–1480). However that theory was never after confirmed by other historians, so the beginnings of castle functioning are dated on 14th century. Large development of the castle took place during the reign of

Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...

. In years 1629–1643, when Jan Baranowski was a

starosta Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...

of Czorsztyn, the castle was fundamentally rebuilt. In 1651 the Castle was captured by the

Goral The gorals are four species in the genus ''Naemorhedus''. They are small ungulates with a goat-like or antelope-like appearance. Until recently, this genus also contained the serow species (now in genus '' Capricornis''). Etymology The original ...

rebels of the Kostka Napierski Uprising. In 1790 the roof of the castle burned following a lightning strike. Afterwards, the castle was abandoned. 20140705 Zamek w Czorsztynie 7574

History

See also