Dunajec River Castles
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The Dunajec river castles is a chain of thirteen
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 ...
castles (some of which do not exist any longer), built in southern
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 ...
, along the Dunajec river. The castles protected the border between the
Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
and the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
, as well as a very important international trade route, which went along the Dunajec and the Poprad all the way down to the Danube river. Most of the castles are in ruins now, and some have disappeared. Their history dates back to the period known as the
Fragmentation of Poland The period of rule by the Piast dynasty between the 10th and 14th centuries is the first major stage of the history of Poland, history of the Polish state. The dynasty was founded by a series of dukes listed by the chronicler Gall Anonymous in t ...
in the early 12th century, when, according to his will, known as the Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth, the country was divided into several provinces. The Dunajec river castles were located on the territory of two castellanies, Wojnicz and
Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...
, in the extreme south of the
Seniorate Province Seniorate Province, also known as the Senioral Province, was a district principality in the Duchy of Poland that was formed in 1138, following the fragmentation of the state.Kwiatkowski, Richard. The Country That Refused to Die: The Story of t ...
.


Castles


Wielka Wieś - Trzewlin Castle

Construction of Trzewlin Castle in Wielka Wieś, Tarnów County began in the early 14th century, and was initiated by the Białon family ( Rawa coat of arms), which later changed its last name to Trzewliński. In the 15th century, the castle belonged to the Wielowieyski family (Półkozic coat of arms). According to 19th-century historian and ethnographer Żegota Pauli, in 1543 Trzewlin Castle was visited by King Sigismund I the Old, and his wife
Bona Sforza Bona Sforza (2 February 1494 – 19 November 1557) was Queen consort, Queen of Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Poland and List of Lithuanian consorts, Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the second wife of Sigismund the Old, and Duchess of Bari and ...
, to escape an epidemic. It is not known when the castle was abandoned. Most likely, it was destroyed during the Swedish invasion of Poland (1655–1660), and in the late 17th century, its walls were pulled down by the residents of Wojnicz. All that remains are a dry moat and small remnants of the walls. Trzewlin Castle was located on a hill called Panieńska Gora, on the left bank of the Dunajec, rising 120 meters above the river valley. The complex consisted of three parts: the upper castle (square-shaped, with measurements 40 by 40 meters), the lower castle (triangular shaped), and a round fortified settlement, separated from both castles by the moat. The ruins are some 12 kilometers southwest 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. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...
, and 3 kilometers south of Wojnicz.


Melsztyn – Melsztyn Castle (ruin)

The castellan 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 ...
, Spicymir (
Leliwa coat of arms Leliwa is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several hundred szlachta families during the existence of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and remains in use today by many of the descendants of these families. The ...
) started the construction of Melsztyn Castle in 1340. In 1362, Bishop Bodzanta blessed the Holy Spirit chapel in the castle. For 200 years the complex remained in the hands of the powerful noble family of Leliwita Melsztyński (see Spytek of Melsztyn), who in the late 14th century built a Gothic
keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...
, located in the west wing of the castle. In the 15th century, Melsztyn was one of centres of the Polish
Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...
movement, and in 1511, Jan Melsztyński sold it to the castellan of Wiślica, Mikołaj Jordan of Myślenice. Around 1546, Spytek Jordan ordered the remodelling of the Gothic keep, turning it into a
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 ...
residence. After the marriages of his two daughters, Melsztyn became the property of the Tarło family, and in 1744, it came into the hands of the Lanckoroński family. Melsztyn Castle was destroyed by the Russians in 1771, during the Bar Confederation, and has been a ruin since. In 1789–1796, parts of the complex were pulled down, for building material for a church at Domosławice. In the following years, the ruins were neglected, which resulted in the collapse of the keep (1846). In 1879-85, due to the efforts of Karol Lanckoroński, the castle gained the status of a permanent, protected ruin. Since 2008, it has belonged to the
gmina The gmina (Polish: , plural ''gminy'' ) is the basic unit of the administrative division of Poland, similar to a municipality. , there were 2,479 gminy throughout the country, encompassing over 43,000 villages. 940 gminy include cities and tow ...
of Zakliczyn. The castle features in paintings of
Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...
, Napoleon Orda, and Maciej Bogusz Steczyński. Melsztyn Castle is located near regional road nr. 980, which goes from Nowy Sącz to Tarnow.


Czchów – Czchów Castle (ruin)

The history of the Czchów Castle dates back to the 13th century, when a Romanesque watchtower was built there. In the 14th century, a defensive castle was added to the tower. It became the residence of the Czchów starostas, and was destroyed in the Swedish wars of the mid-17th century (see Deluge). Finally, when the castle lost its military importance it was turned into a prison, which was closed in 1772, after the
first partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...
. Currently, the only remaining parts of the building are a 14th-century tower and foundations of the
defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...
. The tower is open to visitors from May to October 31.


Wytrzyszczka – Tropsztyn Castle (reconstructed)

Tropsztyn Castle was probably built in the early 13th century by the Ośmioróg family. It was first mentioned in 1231, and remained in the hands of the family for 300 years. A royal edict of 1535 handed Tropsztyn to the castellan of Sandomierz, Piotr Kmita. Some time in the second half of the 16th century, it probably became the hide-out of highwaymen, as it was partially destroyed in 1574 by the owners of Rożnów, due to the “assaults, organized from the castle”. By 1608, Tropsztyn, which belonged to the Zborowski family, already was described as a ruin. Archaeological works were carried out in 1863 by a
Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...
historian, Feliks Jan Szczęsny Morawski. In 1970, it was purchased by Andrzej Benesz, and Tropsztyn was reconstructed in 1993. Now the castle is open to visitors in July and August. According to legend, an
Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
treasure is hidden somewhere in Tropsztyn, as its late 18th century owner, Sebastian Berzewiczy, went to Spanish
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, where he married an Inca princess, and returned to Poland with the treasure.


Rożnów – Rożnów Castle (reconstructed)

Rożnów Castle, located 20 kilometers north of Nowy Sącz, consists of a medieval “upper castle” and Renaissance fortifications (“lower castle”). Its history dates back to the 13th century, when the Gryfita family built a watchtower. The castle itself was probably built in 1350–1370 by Piotr Rozen ( Gryf coat of arms). It is oblong in shape, 44 meters by 20 meters. In 1426, the castle was purchased by one of the most famous Polish knights, Zawisza Czarny, and after his death, it belongdvto his sons. In the late 15th century, Rożnów passed to the Wydźga family, and later, to the Tarnowski family. In the first half of the 16th century, during the Polish Golden Age, Hetman Jan Tarnowski began to reconstruct the fortress at Rożnów. He planned one of the most effective fortresses in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
, guarding the southern border of the nation against the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, which, after the Battle of Mohács emerged as the dominant state in Southeastern Europe. Tarnowski’s death in 1561 put an end to these plans, and the construction was never completed.


Gródek nad Dunajcem – Gródek nad Dunajcem Castle (no longer exists)

Gródek nad Dunajcem Castle was probably built in the early 14th century by Klemens de Gródek, on the Grodzisko Hill in the village of Gródek nad Dunajcem. The building was destroyed either in the late 14th or early 15th century, its ruins were visible as late as early 20th century. Currently, no traces remain of the castle, and the Grodzisko Hill is an island (called Monkey Island) on the Rożnowskie Lake.


Kurów – Kurowska Góra Hill Castle (no longer exists)

Kurowska Góra Castle also known as ''Curow castrum'' in 1308 and later was mentioned by
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 ...
. For some time, the estate probably belonged to Bishop Jan Muskata. Little is known about the castle, which was located in the village of Kurów. Some sources record it as Lemiesz Castle.


Nowy Sącz – Royal Castle


Zabrzeż – Zabrzeż Castle (ruin)

This medieval castle was in the village of Zabrzeż, near Nowy Sącz, on the left bank of the Kamienica river, near its confluence with the Dunajec, 84 meters above the riverbed. In ancient times, this had been a Lusatian Gords settlement, and in the 13th century, a small defensive castle was built. It was built in stone, in a circular shape with a circumference of some 30 meters. What remains now are traces of the moat. Historians have been unable to establish the owners of the castle, as there are very few documents. The village of Zabrzez itself was first mentioned in 1312. Furthermore, it is not known when the castle was destroyed nor by whom. Remains of the walls were still visible in the early 20th century.


Krościenko nad Dunajcem – Pieniny Castle

The ancient castle was built on the northern slope of a steep hill, several meters below its summit, in the immediate vicinity of the
Trzy Korony Trzy Korony (, ) is the Summit (topography), summit of the Three Crowns Massif, an independent portion of a mountain range, range called Pieniny Mountains in the south of Poland. Trzy Korony forms the central part of a compact group of connected m ...
peaks in the Pieniny Mountains. The building was small, due to lack of space, but placed in a spot which provided a natural defence. The length of the defensive walls was 88 meters, and the walls were 1 meter thick, made from the local limestone rock. The gate was in western part of the castle, below which cellars were built. 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 ...
, during the disastrous Mongol invasion of Poland (1259), Prince Bolesław V the Chaste fled to Pieniny Castle also referred to as ''Castro Pyeniny'', together with his mother and wife Kinga of Poland. Historians however doubt Długosz, asserting that construction of the castle was not started till the 1280s. The castle guarded the southern border of
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 ...
, and probably was abandoned by the first half of the 14th century and was destroyed in the 15th century (most likely in 1433, during a
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raid.


Niedzica – Dunajec Castle

.


Czorsztyn – Czorsztyn Castle

.


Szaflary – Szaflary Castle (ruin)

The castle was located on a limestone rock, on the left bank of the White Dunajec. In the 13th and 14th centuries, together with the village of Szaflary, it belonged to the
Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
abbey from Ludźmierz and Szczyrzyc. In 1380, it became royal property. In 1470–80, during the reign of Casimir IV Jagiellon, the castle was rented to a local nobleman Piotr Komorowski. Three years later, Szaflary was taken away from him, as a punishment for his support of Hungarian King
Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...
. Afterwards, the ''fortalitium Schaflari'' turned into a ruin. Szaflary Castle stood on a flat hilltop, measuring of 20 by 30 meters. It was surrounded by a wall, which was in ca. 1474 strengthened by a rampart. Currently, a house stands on the spot where the castle once stood.Zamek w Szaflarach
/ref> All that remains of the castle are parts of the 14th century defensive wall, together with the rampart.


Gords along the Dunajec

The upper Dunajec is a river which flows among hills, and on several of them along the valley there are remains of early Medieval gords. At Wojnicz, a 10th-century Slavic settlement once existed on a dry island a few meters above the swam. The settlement became a castellany, and turned into the town of Wojnicz. Other gords and settlements were located at: * Zawada Lanckorońska (9th-11th centuries, on a hill called Zamczysko) * Białawoda - remains of the Lusatian culture gord, located on the Białawodzka Góra Hill * Kurów - another Lusatian gord on the Kurowska Góra Hill * Marcinkowice - remains of a Lusatian gord, which in the 9th century was seized by the Slavs, on a hill called Grodzisko * Chełmiec - a Lusatian, later Slavic gord on the Chelm hill * Podegrodzie - two early
Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...
gords on two hills * Naszczowice - Lusatian and early Piast gord on the Zamczysko Hill * Maszkowice - Lusatian gord on the Góra Zyndrama Hill * Zabrzeż - Lusatian gord on the Babia Góra Hill


References


Further reading

#G. Leńczyk, ''Katalog grodzisk i zamczysk z terenu Małopolski'', Muzeum Archeologiczne w Krakowie, Kraków 1983 #J. Marszałek, ''Katalog grodzisk i zamczysk w Karpatach'', Wydawnictwo Stanisław Kryciński, Warszawa 1993 #M. Szope, ''Grodziska i zamczyska województwa tarnowskiego'', Muzeum Okręgowe w Tarnowie, Tarnów 1981 #J. Zaremba, ''Zamki i grody Sądecczyzny'


See also

* Dunajec River Gorge * Pieniny National Park (Poland) * Trail of the Eagles' Nests * List of castles in Poland * Tourism in Poland


External links


Youtube video of the Tropsztyn CastlePieniny Mountains tourist siteCastles of Lesser Poland Voivodeship
{{coord missing, Lesser Poland Voivodeship Castles in Lesser Poland Voivodeship Tourist attractions in Lesser Poland Voivodeship