Castle in Pułtusk
| Pułtusk Castle | ||
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 Front view |
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| Creation time : | after 1400 | |
| Castle type : | lock | |
| Conservation status: | Receive | |
| Place: | Pułtusk | |
| Geographical location | 52 ° 42 '13.5 " N , 21 ° 5' 41.7" E | |
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The castle in Pułtusk (also called Castle of the Bishops of Płock in Pułtusk - in Polish: Zamek Biskupów Płockich w Pułtusku -) was the seat of the bishops of Płock until the end of the 18th century . Today the facility, located on a hill above Pułtusk , houses a hotel, catering and conference center operated by an organization for Poland abroad ( Polonia ).
location
The castle is located in the southeast of the city and old town, its park (the former, now filled moat) borders on the Narew . Ulica Gajkowicza runs over the river about 150 meters southwest. In front of the castle in a north-westerly direction is the former castle chapel, which represents the southern end point of the elongated Pułtusk market square.
history
Originally a wooden defensive tower with defensive walls stood here on a two to three meter high flattened hill with a plateau of 60 × 90 meters. Bishop Florian Laskary had the first stone buildings built at the beginning of the 14th century. In 1368 this complex was destroyed by the Lithuanians under Grand Duke Kęstutis . According to Jan Długosz , the residents of the castle burned with the castle. In the second half of the 15th century, the diocese of Płock under the bishop Paweł Giżycki had a brick castle built in the Gothic style on the irregular floor plan of the old wooden complex, which was supposed to secure the passage over the Narew below.
16th and 17th centuries
The construction work with various extensions and conversions dragged on until the 17th century. The main clients were Rafal Leszczynski , Andrzej Krzycki and Piotr Myszkowski . From 1522 the castle received a renaissance facade . In 1530 the first Mazovian printing house was set up in the castle. In 1618 the still existing arcade bridge was built under Bishop Henry Firlej.
Under Bishop Marcin Szyszkowski, the outer walls were reinforced by adding massive buttresses in the first half of the seventeenth century .
18th and 19th centuries
During the " Swedish Flood " the castle was occupied and looted several times by Swedish troops. This caused considerable damage. The building was restored under Andrzej Stanisław Załuski .
In 1773 an inventory was made at the castle at the behest of Michał Jerzy Poniatowski. The condition of the facility was relatively good. 85 box trees , 300 apple trees, 150 pear trees, 35 peach trees and 100 lemon trees were counted in the park . According to the report, the castle was then surrounded by stables, coach houses , a forge and a barn.
Under Bishop Hilary Szembek, the castle was converted into a baroque style castle from 1786 to 1794 . It received another wing on the river side. The castle was damaged again during the Kościuszko uprising and then in the subsequent Napoleonic wars . When Napoleon Bonaparte spent the night in Pultusk after his battle against the Russians in 1806/07, he chose a town house on the market square instead of the uninhabitable castle.
After the third division of Poland , the complex fell to the Duchy of Warsaw . After a renovation in 1812, a military hospital was established here, which existed until 1914. In 1841 the castle burned down and was repaired.
20th and 21st centuries
After 1918 the castle became the seat of the Starosteis . With an interruption due to the Second World War (the German occupiers housed their own authority here), it retained this function until 1975.
After the Second World War, the palace was completely rebuilt in the (earlier) Renaissance style, with some modernist details in the inner courtyard area. The complex is an oval, horseshoe-shaped round building that is open to the south. It surrounds an oval courtyard. The arcade bridge is reinforced on the castle side with two small round towers, the castle itself has a high, square defense tower with beveled corners in the west wing.
In 1974 a renewed restoration of the building began, in 1989 it was handed over to the association “The Polish Society” (Polish: Stowarzyszenia “Wspólnota Polska”) for use as the headquarters of the House of Poles Abroad in Pułtusk (Polish: Dom Polonii w Pułtusku ) become. In addition to the commercial hotel and catering facilities, the Documentation Center of Polish Emigration (Polish: Ośrodek Dokumentacji Wychodźstwa Polskiego ) is also located here .
From earlier construction periods, only the former palace chapel (called "Magdalenka") in the Renaissance style, as well as the arcade bridge and the basement, remained in the original. The interior rooms above were redesigned according to the intended commercial purpose.
Important visitors to the complex were, among others, the Polish King Sigismund III. Wasa , the Swedish King Charles XII. , Napoleon Bonaparte and the tsars Alexander I and Alexander II.
Views in 2011
A stage covers the arcade driveway to the front entrance to the castle
Inner courtyard with - partly modernist designed - west wing
Inner courtyard with east wing
Renaissance bay window at the end of the west wing
Historic cannons in the castle courtyard
View of the defense tower in the west wing
The former Maria Magdalena Palace Chapel
See also
References and comments
- ↑ according to Peter H. Baumgarten (Head), Poland. Baedeker Allianz travel guide r. Verlag Karl Baedeker, ISBN 3-87504-542-4 , Ostfildern 1993, p. 347
- ↑ a b c according to an information board Zamek Biskupów Płockich w Pułtusku in the entrance hall (in Polish and English)
- ↑ according to Józef Matusik and Jerzy Miszalski (Responsible), Castles and Palaces in Poland , Polskie Przedsiębiorstwo Wydawnictw Kartograficznych, No. 300 194 3, Warsaw, no date.
- ↑ Paweł Giżycki (approx. 1400–1463) was a bishop in Płock
- ^ Rafał Leszczyński (1480–1527) was a Polish crown secretary to Sigismund the Elder and bishop
- ^ Piotr Myszkowski (approx. 1510–1591) was a Polish bishop, sub-chancellor and secretary of the crown
- ↑ Henryk Firlej (1574–1626) was a Polish clergyman, from 1624 as Archbishop of Gniezno the Primate of Poland, later also under Chancellor of the Crown
- ↑ Marcin II Szyszkowski (1554-1630) was a Polish Jesuit and bishop and (in personal union with the title of bishop in Krakow) Duke of Siewierz
- ↑ Michał Jerzy Poniatowski (1736–1794), the youngest brother of King Stanisław August Poniatowski , was crown secretary, Płock bishop and last prime minister of the First Republic
- ^ Krzysztof Hilary Szembek (1722–1797) was a Polish Jesuit , bishop and nuncio
- ↑ a b according to Information The history of the castle on the Dom Polonia website
- ↑ Napoleon lived from December 29, 1806 to January 1, 1807 in today's house Ulica Rynek 29, according to a plaque on the building
- ↑ St. Maria Magdalena Palace Chapel (Polish: Kościół sw. Marii Magdaleny ) built in 1538, today an exhibition hall
literature
- Beata Konopska and Michał Starzewski (editor-in-chief), Poland, Map of the castles , from the series: Copernicus , ISBN 83-7329-621-2 , Polskie Przedsiębiorstwo Wydawnictw Kartograficznych SA, Warsaw, first edition without the year, p. 44
- Reinhold Vetter: Mazowsze / Masowien , in: Poland. History, art and landscape of an ancient European cultural nation . DuMont Art Travel Guide, 3rd edition, DuMont Buchverlag, ISBN 3-7701-2023-X , Cologne 1991, p. 222
Web links
- "Dom Polonii" website (multilingual)