Krzyżtopór Castle
The Krzyżtopór Castle , ( ) formerly Krzysztopór (de: cross-hatchet ), was a fortified palace in Ujazd in Gmina Iwaniska , of which only a ruin remains today. The plant is located in the Powiat Opatowski of the Polish Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship , about 40 km west of Sandomierz . Despite the proximity to several interesting cities with preserved historic city centers and a now reasonable road connection, the imposing ruin has so far been little visited by tourists.
history
The chateau was built from 1627 to 1644 for the governor of Sandomierz, Krzysztof Ossoliński (1587–1645), brother of Jerzy Ossoliński . The construction management was Lorenzo Senes . The client died just a year after completion. The heir was his son, Krzysztof Baldwin Ossoliński, who died just four years later in the Battle of Zborów ( Chmelnyzkyj uprising in 1649). Since he had no offspring, the facility was subsequently taken over by the Denhoff and later Kalinowski families .
From 1655 to 1657 the castle was destroyed by Swedish troops. The damage from this destruction was so extensive that the castle was only partially rebuilt (especially the west wing). The Polish aristocratic families Morsztyn , Wiśniowiecki and Pac lived here one after the other . During the time of the Confederation of Bar , Krzyżtopór, which was defended by Confederate units, was conquered by Russian troops in 1777, who destroyed the facility again. The last known resident was Stanisław Sołtyk from 1782 to 1787 - a relative of Kraków's Bishop Kajetan Sołtyk , who bought the castle - after which the buildings became permanently uninhabitable.
In 1815 the Łempicki family bought the castle. It later fell into the hands of the Orsettis . During the Second World War, partisans hid here and after the war the state took over the facility. Parts were reconstructed in 1971. In 1980 the Polish Ministry of the Interior decided to rebuild the castle in its entirety to use it as a holiday facility for officers. But already in 1981 this project came to a standstill due to the declaration of a state of war . After further partial restorations, around 90% of the original walls are standing today, some of the ruins have been temporarily roofed over. There is a lack of funds for further repairs.
Building
The complex was built in the style of a palazzo in fortezza, which was then fashionable in Poland . It is attributed to the architectural styles of the early Baroque and Mannerism . The building stands on a pentagonal fortification, which is equipped at the tips with four bastions (undeveloped and originally equipped with cannons) symmetrically opposite and a fifth bastion (built with an octagonal tower) opposite the main entrance. The fortification was built on a previously flattened, stony hill. The entire ensemble was built from locally available natural stone as well as sandstone and brick.
The trapezoidal inner courtyard is surrounded by two two-story wings and the four-story castle. The castle itself surrounds another, elliptical, smaller inner courtyard, which was probably used for theater performances. The four towers of the complex are intended to represent the four seasons, 12 ballrooms the number of months and 52 rooms the number of weeks in the year. After all, the castle is said to have 365 windows - like days a year.
On both sides of the entrance gate, two large bas-reliefs illustrate the name of the castle: a cross (Polish: Krzyż), a symbol of politics (during the Reformation battles) of the Catholic builder and voivod, and an ax (Polish: Topór) from the coat of arms of the Ossoliński family . The large horse stables are said to have been beautifully decorated with marble and mirrors. In one of the castle halls, a partition wall consisted of a large aquarium with exotic fish. The tower on the fifth bastion was built over a spring, and its basement is still filled with water today.
Trivia
The castle was the theme of James Michener's novel “ Mazurka ” (original title: “ Poland ”), published in Germany in 1983 . There are various local legends about the property and its inhabitants. Thereafter, the builder and the son were punished by God with death for their vanity, so that neither of them could enjoy their magnificent possessions for long. According to another tradition, in 1649 the night watch was awakened by the noise of an approaching cavalry unit. However, only a herd of horses appeared with a single rider - Krzysztof Baldwin Ossoliński. When the gates were opened for him, he and his horses inexplicably disappeared. A short time later the news of the death of the castle owner on the battlefield near Zborów was brought. Since then, Krzysztof Ossoliński on horseback has been seen in the castle. The famous treasure of the Ossoliński family is also said to be buried under the castle and guarded by the rider in hussar uniform.
Notes and individual references
- ↑ Lorenzo Senes, also known as Laurentius de Sent and Wawrzyniec Senes , was an architect and builder from Graubünden who worked in Poland.
literature
- Reinhold Vetter: Between Wisła / Vistula, Bug and Karpaty / Carpathian Mountains , in: Poland. History, art and landscape of an old European cultural nation , DuMont Art Travel Guide, 3rd edition, ISBN 3-7701-2023-X , DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne 1991, p. 515
- Jerzy Losiński: Art Monuments in Poland: Cracow and Southeast Poland, a picture handbook , Munich / Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag 1984, pp. 478–479, ISBN 3-422-00385-1
- Józef Myjak: Opatów i okolice, Zamek Krzyżtopór w Ujezdie , 140. pozycja, ISBN 978-83-86436-99-6 , Wydawnictwo PAIR Myjakpress, 2008
Web links
- Website of the ruin (in English)
- Zamkipolskie.com (in Polish)
- Historical view from 1729: Elegentissima et bene munita Arxa Chrzistopora a Suecis per insidias occupata… ( digitized version )
Coordinates: 50 ° 42 ′ 51.1 ″ N , 21 ° 18 ′ 36.7 ″ E