The Gola Castle () erected in the second half of the 16th century is situated in the village of

Gola Dzierżoniowska Gola Dzierżoniowska , abbreviated to Gola, is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Niemcza, within Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Niemcza, east of Dzie ...

, in

Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesian Voivodeship (, ) in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. It covers an area of and has a total population of 2,899,986. It is one of the wealthiest ...

, south-western

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It is located 4 km north-west of

Niemcza Niemcza () is a town in Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Niemcza. It lies on the Ślęza River, approximately east of Dzierżoniów, a ...

, 18 km east of

Dzierżoniów Dzierżoniów (; until 1946 ; ) is a town located at the foot of the Owl Mountains in southwestern Poland, within the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Dzierżoniów County, and of Gmina Dzierżoniów (although it is not part of the ...

, and 47 km south of the regional capital

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

History

According to inscription above its main entrance, the ''Gola Castle'' was erected by Leonard von Rohnau beginning February 1580. The whole structure was built with granite rock. The original Renaissance-style edifice was enlarged in the years 1600–1610. It went through transformations at the beginning of the 18th century and was finally restored at the turn of the 20th century. The Castle was partially destroyed in the 1945 bombardment and the last owners, the family von Prittwitz und Gaffron, were expelled after World War II. Thereafter, the Castle gradually fell into ruins. The wonderful Park surrounding the property also became dilapidated. However, both the Castle and Park are now under strict protection. Gola Castle is of special interest because it is one of the oldest and largest castles built in the Renaissance style in this region.

Architecture

The Renaissance Castle in Gola has been erected on a stone escarpment in 1580 by Leonard von Rohnau – this is confirmed by the German-language inscription over the main entrance: "IN GOTTES NAMEN. DEN 23. FEBRVAR ANNO 15 IM ACHZIGSTEN IAR LEONARD VON ROHNAV DES BAUES ANFANG MACHT VND DIES IAR VNDERS DACH VORBARCHT: GOTT SEI DANK" ("In the name of God Amen. On the 29th February 1580 Leonard von Rohnau started the construction and thanks to God covered it with a roof") Most probably the Renaissance castle was built on the site of a more ancient middle age construction. The middle age castle had a defensive character, as shown by the steep escarpment on the western side, the wet moat from the east, and the double stone walls surrounding the edifice. The Renaissance Castle has been built as a quadrilateral building with an interior courtyard. A 300-year-old linden still grows in the middle of the courtyard. At the beginning of the 17th century, the tower has been added to the initial construction on the eastern corner. From these days, the shape of the building remains untouched. The caste has a reconstructed portal and walls with

sgraffito (; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in con ...

decoration.

Park

Gola Park is below the level of the Castle. This 13-hectare Park features more than 1600 trees representing approximately 35 species from all over the world. A large water system irrigates the Park. The Gola river running through the Park waters seven of the ponds. The unique atmosphere created by the ponds and vegetation still remains today even as many of the ponds became overgrown over the years. The Park has a very rich diversity of flora and fauna. The main path leading from the upper part of the Park where the Castle stands is surrounded by centenarian beech trees. The latest inventory of flora in Gola Park was catalogued in Autumn 2001. The work was performed by the following team: Ewa Domaszewska, Artur Barcki and Cedric Gendaj. 1619 trees and 36 different species were collected and catalogued during this inventory. For a full version of the inventory and a detailed description of each tree, please have a look at reference file (only available in Latin and Polish)).

Reconstruction

Intensive reconstruction work aiming to restitute the monument's historical value has been carried out since 2000 for several years. The work has been subsidized in 2007–08 from the "Cultural Heritage" program of

Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (Poland) The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage () is a ministry within Polish government led by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage responsible for national heritage preservation and Polish culture promotion. Ministry oversees state o ...

. :

Hotel, Spa & Restaurant

In the summer of 2013, Gola Castle now owned by Marek Gendaj, became a luxury hotel, spa & restaurant called Uroczysko 7 stawów (7 Lakes' Sanctuary). For more information, see homepage.

Surroundings

Less than 20 km *

Wojsławice Arboretum Wojsławice Arboretum is an arboretum, located in Wojsławice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Wojsławice, Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It occupies an area of 62 hectare, ha. Since 1988, Arboretum Wojs� ...

* Lake of Sieniawka - Beach, swimming, beach volley * Medieval town of

* Horseriding at

Bielawa Bielawa () is a town in southwestern Poland. Since 1999, it has been situated in Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of the Wałbrzych Voivodeship. As of January 1, 2023, it has a population of 28 34 ...

* Aquapark Aquarius of

* Cistercian monastery at Henryków Less than 50 km * Camp of

Gross-Rosen Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, d ...

* Lower-Silesia Castles * Grodno Castle,

Kamieniec Ząbkowicki Kamieniec Ząbkowicki () is a town in Ząbkowice Śląskie County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. The town is an important railroad j ...

Castle, Krzyżowa Castle, Krasków Castle, Krobielowice Castle, Sobótka-Górka Castle *

Książ Castle Książ Castle (, ; ) is a castle in northern Wałbrzych in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. The largest castle in the region of Silesia, it is the third-largest in Poland behind Malbork Castle and Wawel Castle. It lies within Książ Lands ...

, Horse stables of Książ, Palm house of Lubiechów * Historical city of

Kłodzko Kłodzko (; ; ; ) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse (Nysa Kłodzka) river. Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko County (and of the ru ...

with its houses from 15th and 16th century, its fortress with 44 km de galleries & the bridge Saint-John from 1390 * Ski resort/mounting bike in Sokolec * Spa resorts in

Polanica-Zdrój Polanica-Zdrój () is a spa town in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Kłodzko, and south-west of the regional capital, Wrocław. As at 2021, the town has a population of 6 ...

Szczawno-Zdrój Szczawno-Zdrój (, until 1935 ''Ober Salzbrunn'') is a spa town in Wałbrzych County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Geography The town in the historic Lower Silesia region is situated north of the Central Sudetes mountai ...

* Underground factories from World War II (Osówka, Walim) * Trekking in

Wielka Sowa Wielka Sowa ("Great Owl", ) with a height of is the highest peak of the Owl Mountains, a range of the Central Sudetes. The mountain is located in Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Geography The peak made ...

, Mała Sowa and

Mount Ślęża Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

* Market of

Świdnica Świdnica (; ; ) is a city on the Bystrzyca (Oder), Bystrzyca River in south-western Poland in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. As of 2021, it has a population of 55,413 inhabitants. It is the seat of Świdnica County, and also of the smaller dis ...

, and Church of Peace in Świdnica (listed as

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

) *

, with

Centennial Hall Centennial Hall (, ) may refer to: in Canada * Centennial Hall (London, Ontario), London, Ontario, Canada * Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada * Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium, former name of TCU Place in Germany * , 1902 * Ce ...

(listed as

), Market Square in Wrocław, Aula Leopoldina at