Strzelce Opolskie Castle (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: ''Zamek w Strzelcach Opolskich'', german: Schloss Groß Strehlitz) – a former residence of the

Dukes of Opole The following is a list of monarchs who used the title Duke of Opole and controlled the city and the surrounding area either directly or indirectly (see also Duchy of Opole). Piast dynasty * 1163-1173 Bolesław I the Tall (Bolesław Wysoki), ...

located in Strzelce Opolskie,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. The castle was burned down during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by the Soviets and remains in ruins to this day. The town of Strzelce Opolskie was situated on the

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

–

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

–

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. The settlement was initially surrounded by a thick forest. An original wooden hunting lodge was probably replaced by a stone structure in the 13th century. The castle was first mentioned in

Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis ( pl, Księga uposażeń biskupstwa wrocławskiego, ''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 centu ...

as ''Castrum Strelecense''. The document is believed to be compiled in 1305. The castle was built on a simple rectangular plan measuring 16,1 x 13,9 m and was, in fact, a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

. In 1323

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

became the duke of an independent Duchy of Strzelce/Strehlitz. He carried out extensive renovations to the castle and built a series of fortifications and a moat around it. After his death the castle and the duchy was taken over by the

Piasts The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branche ...

of Niemodlin and after the extinction of the line in 1382 it was passed to the Piasts of Opole. The dynasty owned the castle up to its extinction in 1532. In the first half of the 16th century the castle was in very poor condition. From 1562 to 1596 major renovation works were carried out. From the middle of the 17th century to the beginning of the 19th century it was in hands of the

Colonna family The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in Middle Ages, medieval and Roman Renaissance, Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Pope Martin ...

. The castle's heyday came after 1815 when Andreas Renard took its ownership and made it his main residence. An English-style landscape park was created in 1832. In 1840 Andreas Renard extended and remodelled the palace adding an adjacent tower and building horse stables near the west wing. From 1932 to 1945 the palace was possessed by the Castell family. On 21 January 1945 Soviet troops set the town and castle on fire. The building remains in ruins to this day.

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Bibliography

* * * {{cite book , last = Gaworski , first = Marek , title = Zamki, pałace i dwory ziemi strzeleckiej , publisher = MS , year = 2005 , location = Opole , isbn = 83-88945-48-3 Castles in Opole Voivodeship Strzelce County