Pieskowa Skała (;

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 ...

for ''Little Dog's Rock'') is a limestone cliff in the valley of river Prądnik, Poland, best known for its Renaissance castle. It is located within the boundaries of the

Ojców National Park Ojców National Park ( pl, Ojcowski Park Narodowy) is a national park in Kraków County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, established in 1956. It takes its name from the village of Ojców, where it also has its headquarters. Chopin ...

, 27 km north of Kraków, close to the village of

Sułoszowa Sułoszowa is a village in Kraków County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of an administrative district called Gmina Sułoszowa. It lies approximately north-west of the regional capital Kraków Kraków (), o ...

. The castle was first mentioned in Latin documents of

king Władysław I the Elbow-high (''Władysław Łokietek'') before 1315, as ''"castrum Peskenstein"''.

History

Pieskowa Skała castle, built by King Casimir III the Great (''Kazimierz Wielki''), is one of the best-known examples of a defensive

Polish Renaissance The Renaissance in Poland ( pl, Renesans, Odrodzenie; literally: the Rebirth) lasted from the late 15th to the late 16th century and is widely considered to have been the Golden Age of Polish culture. Ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, the Crown ...

architecture. It was erected in the first half of the 14th century. It is part of the chain of fortified castles along the

Trail of the Eagle's Nests The Trail of the Eagles' Nests ( pl, Szlak Orlich Gniazd) of south-western Poland, is a marked trail along a chain of 25 medieval castles between Częstochowa and Kraków. The Trail of the Eagles' Nests was first marked by Kazimierz Sosnowski. S ...

, along the highland plane of the

Polish Jura Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

() extending north-west from Kraków to the city of

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ; german: Tschenstochau, Czenstochau; la, Czanstochova) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta River with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (admin ...

. The castle was renovated and donated in 1377 by king

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 ...

(''Ludwik Węgierski'') to Piotr Szafraniec of Łuczyce, according to the 15th century chronicler Jan Długosz. The Szafraniec family gained the full ownership rights of the castle in 1422 from King Władysław Jagiełło in recognition of faithful service at the Battle of Grunwald by Piotr Szafraniec, the chamberlain of Kraków. The castle was rebuilt in 1542–1544 by Niccolò Castiglione with participation from Gabriel Słoński of Kraków. The sponsor of the castle's reconstruction in the

mannerist style Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

was the Calvinist,

Stanisław Szafraniec Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, Cali ...

voivode of Sandomierz Sandomierz Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo Sandomierskie, la, Palatinatus Sandomirensis) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Polan ...

. At that time the original medieval tower was transformed into a scenic double loggia decorated in the sgraffito technique. Between 1557 and 1578, the trapezoid shape courtyard was surrounded at the level of two upper storeys by arcades, embellished with 21 mascarons. The arcade

risalit An ''avant-corps'' ( it, avancorpo or , plural , german: Risalit, pl, ryzalit), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the ''corps de logis'', often taller than othe ...

above the gate is a 17th-century addition. The last owner of the castle of Szafraniec family was Jędrzej, Stanisław's son, who died childless in 1608. After his death the estate was purchased by Maciej Łubnicki and later by the Zebrzydowski family. In 1640 Michał Zebrzydowski built the

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

fortifications with baroque gate and a chapel. The castle changed hands many times over the centuries. In 1903 it was bought by the Pieskowa Skała Society led by

Adolf Dygasiński Adolf Dygasiński (March 7, 1839, Niegosławice – June 3, 1902, Grodzisk Mazowiecki) was a Polish novelist, publicist and educator. In Polish literature, he was one of the leading representatives of Naturalism. Life During his literary career ...

and with time turned over to the Polish state and meticulously restored.

Popular culture

The castle has been featured in many films and TV series including '' More Than Life At Stake'' (1968), ''

Janosik Janosik can refer to: * Janosik (1921 film), a Slovak film * , a Polish comedy film * Janosik (TV series), a Polish TV series * Janosik. Prawdziwa historia ''Janosik: A True Story'' (also known as ''Janosik. Prawdziwa historia'' or ''Jánošík - ...

'' (1971), '' The Ring and the Rose'' (1986), '' With Fire and Sword'' (1999), and ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

'' (2006). It was also depicted on a 4- zloty stamp issued by the

Polish Post Poczta Polska ( lit. ''Polish Post'') is the state postal administration of Poland, initially founded in 1558. It is the largest mail-handling company in the country, which additionally provides courier, banking, insurance and logistics servi ...

in 1971, which remained in circulation until 1994. It was part of the ''Polish Castles'' series.

Gallery

File:Pieskowa Skała w Dolinie Prądnika.jpg, View of the Hercules' Club rock formation and Pieskowa Skała Castle File:Sułoszowa, zamek 09.JPG, Inner courtyard (before renovation) File:163vik Zamek w Pieskowej Skale. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg, Fortified entrance File:Garden of the Pieskowa Skała Castle, Poland, September 2019, 01.jpg, Castle garden File:Fragment muru obronnego z bramą 2.JPG, Castle walls File:Dziedziniec,.JPG, Outer courtyard File:A-609 M zespół zamkowy, zamek, oficyna z bramą i basztą, fortyfikacje bastionowe, ogród kwaterowy, park Pieskowa Skała 13.JPG, Artworks inside the castle museum File:Lange-Ojców.jpg, ''View from Ojców'' by Antoni Lange, 1839

References

External links

Official website, at www.pieskowaskala.pl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pieskowa Skala Castles in Lesser Poland Voivodeship Kraków County Museums in Lesser Poland Voivodeship Historic house museums in Poland

History

Popular culture

Gallery

See also

References

External links