Ojców Castle (

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

: ''Zamek Ojców'') - a castle located in the

Kraków-Częstochowa Upland The Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, also known as the Polish Jurassic Highland or Polish Jura (), is part of the Jurassic System of south–central Poland, stretching between the cities of Kraków, Częstochowa and Wieluń. The Polish Jura borders ...

, part of a system of castles known as the ''Eagle's Nests'' (

: ''Orle Gniazda'') - formerly protecting the southern border of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

; currently housing a museum dedicated to the castle in its renovated castle-tower. The castle is located in the village of Ojców ( north 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 ...

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...

; in

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 ...

. The castle was used as a

stronghold A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

, built by

Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...

in the second half of the fourteenth century. The castle is located in the Ojcowski National Park.

History

A legend mentions, that the

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

was built by the

Duke of Wrocław The Duke of Silesia was the title of sons and descendants of the Polish people, Polish Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth. In accordance with the Testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty, last will and testament of Bolesław, upon his death his lands were d ...

Wiesław I,

Popiel Prince Popiel ІІ (or Duke Popiel) was a legendary 9th-century ruler of two proto- Polish tribes, the Goplans and West Polans. He was the last member of the Popielids, a mythical dynasty before the Piasts. According to the chroniclers Gal ...

's brother-in-law, however the first recorded information about the castle comes from the fourteenth century - linking up with

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

, who used the castle as part of his defensive line against the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

and the south. The King named the castle in honour of his father,

Władysław I Łokietek Władysław I Łokietek, in English known as the "Elbow-high" or Ladislaus the Short (c. 1260/12 March 1333), was King of Poland from 1320 to 1333, and duke of several of the provinces and principalities in the preceding years. He was a member of ...

, calling it ''Father by the Rock'' (

: ''Ociec u skały''). In 1665 the stronghold was taken over by the

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

, which they partially burned and deconstructed. The House of Koryciński, who owned the castle, had renovated it, and built additional living quarters. Various battles throughout the oncoming centuries had caused the castle to be shifted between different owners. Causing the castle to go through several cycles of renovation and deconstruction, currently the castle stands as the picturesque, and renovated ruin. Actor and comedian

Andrzej Grabowski Andrzej Piotr Grabowski (born 15 March 1952) is a Polish actor, singer and comedian. He is best known for playing the role of Ferdynand Kiepski in the TV series '' The Lousy World'' as well as being one of the judges on the Polish edition of Danci ...

wrote a statement about his visit:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ojcow Castle Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century Castles in Lesser Poland Voivodeship Kraków County

History

See also

References