Dębno Castle is a late Gothic complex, built in 1470 to 1480 by Chancellor of the Crown and Kasztelan 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 ...

, Jakub Dębiński (also known as Jakub z Dębna), in the southern Polish village of

Dębno Dębno () is a town in Myślibórz County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship in western Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 13,443. Data for territorial unit 3210034. Despite its location in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Dębn ...

. It is located a few hundred meters south of the international

European route E40 European route E40 is the longest European route, more than long, connecting Calais in France via Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, with Ridder in Kazakhstan near the border with ...

History

Before the stone castle was built, a complex made of wood and earth had existed on the location. It probably belonged to

komes Komes (abbreviated K. before a surname), also żupan in Polish, a title developed from the Latin ''comes'' in medieval Poland and was used for dignitary in the period of the Holy Roman Empire for administrative and military district commanders. T ...

Świętoslaw of the noble ''Gryfita'' family, Kasztelan of

Wiślica Wiślica () () is a town in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Wiślica. It lies on the Nida River, approximately south of Busko-Zdrój and sout ...

. Sometime in the mid-14th century, Dębno passed into the hands of the influential Odrowąż family, to which Jakub z Dębna, founder of the castle, belonged. In 1586 the castle was rebuilt in 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 ...

style. At that time it belonged to a Hungarian nobleman Ferenc Wesselini, secretary of King

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...

. In the late 18th century, another remodeling took place, ordered by the ''Tarło'' family, who were then-owners of the castle. The Tarło coat of arms and the date ''1772'' can still be seen on the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

portal Portal may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * ''Portal'' (series), a series of video games developed by Valve ** ''Portal'' (video game), a 2007 video game, the first in the series ** '' Portal 2'', the 2011 sequel ** '' Portal Stori ...

. Also, at that time, a part of the northern wing of the castle was added. Throughout the years, Dębno castle changed hands several times. It belonged to a number of

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 ...

Polish families -

Lanckoroński The House of Lanckoroński (plural: Lanckorońscy) was an old and wealthy Polish aristocratic family. Its representatives held power and influence in the Kingdom of Poland from the times of the late Piast dynasty (14th century) to the end of the ...

, Rogowski, Rudnicki, Spławski (who in 1831 hosted there refugees of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

), Jastrzębski. Even though owners carried out numerous remodeling projects, the castle did not change its original look. Today it consists of four rectangular segments, which make an internal, rectangular courtyard with a well. The gate goes through a Baroque portal. Lavlishly furnished rooms on upper floors were occupied by owners, while

domestic worker A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly ...

s lived on the ground floor. The castle used to be 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 ...

; at present, there is a permanent wooden bridge leading to the gate. In 1945, the castle was taken over by the government of Poland, and between 1970 and 1978, it was renovated. Since 1978, Dębno castle has been home to a branch of the

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– ...

Regional Museum.

History

See also