Czorsztyn Castle
| Czorsztyn Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
 The ruins of the Czorsztyn Castle with the Jezioro Czorsztyńskie |
||
| Alternative name (s): | Zamek Czorsztyn, Zornstein, formerly Voronin, Arx Czorstein | |
| Creation time : | 13th Century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Czorsztyn | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 26 '4.4 " N , 20 ° 18' 47.9" E | |
| Height: | 550 m | |
|
||
The Czorsztyn Castle ( German Burg Czornsteyn or Burg Zornstein ) is a fortress near Czorsztyn in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship .
history
The beginning of the hill fort goes back to the end of the 13th century. At that time, the first fortification, consisting of earth walls and possibly reinforced with stones, is said to have been built on the rock near the Dunajec . In the transition from the 13th to the 14th century, a round brick tower with a diameter of 10 m and a wall thickness of up to 3 m was built here. At that time the complex was called Wronin , which was derived from the dark color of the forest with which the rock was then overgrown. The castle was probably built by the Poor Clares from Stary Sącz (German Alt Sandez ), but possibly already by the Duchess Kunigunde of Poland , who owned the lands of Nowy Sącz and Pieninen (German Kronenberge ). After the death of her husband, Bolesław the Chaste , she entered the Poor Clare monastery in Stary Sącz, which she donated with rich gifts.
The foundation of the castle is related to colonization efforts on the banks of the Dunajec and the dispute between Hungary and Poland over these border areas. A traffic route between Buda and Krakow and a ford through the Dunajec also ran here. Dunajec Castle was on the Hungarian side . After the Czorsztyn Castle, the road forked, with one turning to Nowy Targ and the other through Krościenko nad Dunajcem to Alt Sandez; this road was also a royal road . The oldest document in which the Wronin Castle was mentioned is a settlement deed for the village of Kluszkowce , which was issued in 1320 by the prioress Stronisława of the Abbey in Old Sandez, the settlement already taking place in 1307. The first document with the name Czorsztyn refers to the establishment of Krościenko in 1348 by Casimir the Great . Under Casimir the Great, the castle was taken over by the king and expanded to monitor the royal road.
The Starostei of Czorsztyn was founded during the reign of Władysław Jagiełło . This included Krościenko nad Dunajcem , Sromowce Wyzne, Maniowy, Grywald, Hałuszowa, Tylmanova, Kluszkowce, Ochotnica, Szczawnica Wyzna, Szczawnica Nizna, Huba, Mizerna, Tylka and Krosnica. The respective Starost resided at the castle, including Zawisza Czarny . The castle was rebuilt in the first half of the 17th century under the star of Jan Baranowski and two new bastions were added. In the villages belonging to the Starostei new farms were built (in Polish folwark ). Tradition has it that he himself is considered a very cruel despot; He is said to have tied rebellious peasants to trees that had stood on rocks and killed them by falling them from above. The last Starost was Josef Makary Potocki, appointed in 1763. In its time, the already dilapidated castle was set on fire by lightning in 1790 and destroyed. As a result, it served as a quarry for the population.
The Starostei existed until 1811. Then the holdings now under Austrian rule were divided up and auctioned. In 1819 the ruins and the surrounding areas were bought by Jan Maksymilian Drohojowski. In the second half of the 19th century, Marceli Drohojowski had a brick courtyard built near the castle based on a design by the Galician architect Feliks Ksiezarski. The successor Konstatin Drohojowski had the first archaeological investigations and restoration work carried out on the ruins. In 1921 he also established a nature reserve around the castle, which formed the core of what would later become the Pieniński Park Narodowny . The last owner, Marian Drohojowski, carried out excavations at the middle castle before the Second World War, during which stone and ceramic finds were made.
After 1945 the Drohojowski family was expropriated and the property was nationalized. Excavations were carried out in the 1960s and parts of the outer walls around the lower castle, the entrance building and parts of the farm building were exposed. On the initiative of Pieniński Park Narodowny, large-scale security work was carried out on the upper and middle chateau and the building was saved from further deterioration.
Historical events in Czorsztyn
Kazimierz the Great stayed at the castle several times , as did Władysław Jagiełłlo twice; here the return of 37 thousand shock Prague groschen was supposed to take place, which Sigismund of Luxembourg had granted him against the pledge of 13 Spiš cities. The amount was not refunded. In the 1430s, the Hussites passed here when they sacked Zips.
In 1651 the castle witnessed the peasant uprising led by Aleksander Kostka Napierski. With the help of forged letters from the king, he began to incite the local population. At the beginning of 1651 he gathered a group of ten farmers and robbers and he succeeded in taking Czorsztyn because the then Starost Platemberg was with the king in Beresteczko . Bishop Andrzej Gebicki did not believe the forged king's letters and sent soldiers to Czorsztyn. These attacked Napierski unsuccessfully at first, the reinforcements besieged the castle and on June 24, 1651 the besieged surrendered and surrendered the leaders. Napierski was convicted and impaled .
At the castle Jan Kazimierz is said to have given Jerzy Lubomirski the Polish crown treasure and the archives to be kept in his Lubowla estate while fleeing from the Swedes .
Czorsztyn ruins today
The former Dunajec river was dammed into the Jezioro Czorsztyńskie between 1969 and 1996 . As a result, the old town of Czorsztyn as well as the lower castle of Czorsztyn sank in the floods. The old royal road between Czorsztyn and Nidzica is also now under water.
After the restoration work, the castle was opened to the public for the first time in 1996. Today the upper and middle castle and the Baranowski Bastion can be visited. Stone fragments from earlier building eras are shown in a lapidarium . In the courtyard of the upper castle there is a 6 m large hole carved into the rock, which was once the cistern , the bottom of which reached to the lower castle.
literature
- Andrzej Weglarz: Zamek Czorsztyn. Rynek, Agencja Wydawnica WiT sc, ISBN 978-83-89580-45-0 .
