Otmuchów Castle - a castle built in the

Medieval Times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

, expanded in between 1585–1596 in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

architectural style, reconstructed in the seventeenth century into the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

architectural style, and the residence of the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

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 ...

up until 1810. The castle is located in

Otmuchów Otmuchów (pronounced: ; ) is a town in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, in southern Poland, with 6,581 inhabitants (2019). Etymology The city was mentioned for the first time as ''Otemochow'' in 1155. It was named in its Old Polish form ''Othmucho ...

(68 km south-west of

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship ( , , ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Silesia. A relatively lar ...

; 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 ...

History

The history of the Castle in

dates back to the twelfth century, when Pope Hadrian gave authority to the land to the

Bishop of Wrocław Bishops of the (Breslau )Wrocław Bishopric, Prince-Bishopric (1290–1918), and Archdiocese (since 1930; see Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław for details). Bishops * 1000–? – John (Johannes) * 1051–1062 – Hieronymus * 1063–1072 � ...

, including the castle. Throughout the next centuries the castle gained its significance, when

Preczlaw of Pogarell called

the capital of the Duchy of Bishops. The castle changed its architectural style to that of the

during reconstruction work in the seventeenth century. In 1810 the partially devastated south-eastern wing of the residence was deconstructed. Currently two wings of the castle survive, both having four levels. After the

secularisation In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

in 1810, the castle was left in ruins, while the lands were given off to the powerful House of

Humboldt Humboldt may refer to: People * Alexander von Humboldt, German natural scientist, brother of Wilhelm von Humboldt * Wilhelm von Humboldt, German linguist, philosopher, and diplomat, brother of Alexander von Humboldt Fictional characters * Hu ...

; the Duke of Humboldt used the material from the former, other two wings to repair the currently standing reconstructed wings. In the location of the former wings, the owner built a small castle-garden, while his brother

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, natural history, naturalist, List of explorers, explorer, and proponent of Romanticism, Romantic philosophy and Romanticism ...

sent in exotic trees, such as the smoketree,

ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the English common name. The order to which the genus belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, , and ''Ginkgo'' is n ...

, or the Canadian lime tree. One of the most unusual parts of the residence's interior is located in the castle's two small ''cells of death'', where prisoners were told to enter, and fall down a 20-metre drop, where there is a scripture ''Go you are free'' (''Idź jesteś wolny'',

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 ...

); the sudden drop let to the stone courtyard with a sharpened birch perch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otmuchow Castle Castles in Opole Voivodeship Nysa County 12th-century architecture