Castle Trekking: Silesia (Part Two)

Another day, another castle... The first castle today is Siewierz and the tour will end with my favorite of the bunch, Ogrodzieniec.

Ogrodzieniec Castle

   The castle in Siewierz is first mentioned in 1337, however based on the stone it is guessed that the castle dates to possibly 1304. In 1337, Siewierz and its territory were sold to the Duke of Cieszyn by the Duke of Bytom. The later Duke of Cieszyn ran into financial troubles in 1443 and sold the castle to the bishop of Krakow.

Siewierz Castle

   As part of the purchase agreement of the castle, the reign of Siewierz and the territory would now belong to every successive bishop of Krakow. Because of this, the bishops of Krakow had to adopt the secular title of Duke of Siewierz. The area of Siewierz was at the time not part of Poland and therefore had its own politics, military, law, economy, currency and nobility.

Interior wall of Siewierz.

   In 1625, the 'Tribunal of Siewierz' was established at the castle. This court was famous for acting harsh and rigourous. A well known saying of this time is: "Beat, steal, kill but keep away from Siewierz." Meaning that there are three crimes in Siewierz suitable for the death penalty; fighting, theft and murder.

View from castle tower.

   Siewierz was incorporated into Poland in 1790 and then after the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, Siewierz became part of Prussia. A little confusing eh? At this time, Prussia turned the castle into a textile factory and by 1815, Siewierz was annexed into the territory of Warsaw and the castle was abandoned. The castle then started to collapse. Preservation works have been done in the 70's as well as from 1998-2002.

Siewierz Castle

   Now we move on to a castle in which the mortar between the limestone and dolomite was made up of a mixture of lime, eggs and carrion. It almost sounds like the makings of a delicious pie.. Almost.

Zamek Ogrodzieniec

   Another of the "Eagle Nests" castles, Ogrodzieniec sits on top of Janowski's Mountain giving some lovely views of the land below. Because of the strong defense given against raids from the princes of Czech and Silesia, the castle was given the nickname of "The Wolf Jaw".

View from the castle.

   Between the years of 1530-1545, Ogrodzieniec Castle was extended with a complete Renaissance defense and a splendor that matched the beautiful Wawel Castle in Krakow. However again, this castle did not fair well with the last Swedish invasion in 1702, when it was raided and set to fire. The castle was left in 1810 and since then has fallen to ruin.

  

Ogrodzieniec Castle

   There are still plenty of castles here that I have yet to explore. Until then may it be, another day, another castle.

Do widzenia!