Besiekiery Castle, Besiekiery, Poland

Besiekiery Castle was built by the Łęczyca voivod Lawrence Sokolowski at the end of the 15th century. The knights' headquarters had a tower and was surrounded by a moat, the remains of which are visible today.

In the year 1597, Cardinal Andrzej Batory rebuilt the castle. The next renovation came after flood damage caused by the invading Swedes, was undertaken by Łęczycka Starosta Jan Szczawiński in 1655. His coat of arms 'Prawdzic' is still visible on the cartouche. In the 18th century the castle was owned by 'Gajewskich' who lowered its residential building by one floor.

Built of brick on a rectangular plan the castle had a drawbridge leading to the most forward section of the wall outside the south peripheral gate tower.

After 1800 the castle was never inhabited again, and slowly fell into disrepair.

Large portions of the ruins survived. Entrance to the ruins is free of charge. The ruins are very easy to find as they are visible from the road. Reaching the ruins requires crossing the moat and then climbing up the hill.

The origin of the castle in Besiekiery is unclear. According to some research the castle was built in 1500 by the provincial governor of Łęczyca, Mikołak Sokołowski. However, no document confirms this. Another hypothesis attributes the erection of the stronghold to esquire carver of Brzeski, Wojaciech Sokołowski as a builder of the castle. Thus, it might be assumed that the building was erected by Sokołowski at the turn of the 15th and 16th century.

Later history of the monument is now better recorded. It is known that at the end of the 16th century the castle belonged to Andrzej Batory, and after that it changed hands often. Unfortunately the foundation did not survive well. In the 17th century it began to deteriorate and its existence was ended in a fire in 1731. The then owners, the Gajewskis, disassembled the second storey, and in the middle of the 19th century the castle carried out only economic functions.

References:

Wikipedia

Castles and fortifications in Poland

User Reviews

Łukasz Łukasz (2 months ago)
Ogólnie zagrodzone i zakaz wstępu. Nic nie stoi na przeszkodzie jednak żeby tam wejść. Ciekawe miejsce ze względu na położenie. Rubiny jak ruiny, nie bardzo wiem co tu oceniać.

timo karttunen (10 months ago)
Lovely place. As of today 31.7.21, no entry inside the castle allowed, but I really wish the situation changes. However, roaming out around the castle is still cool. The ruins looks fantastic in sunset.

Jacek Adamek (2 years ago)
A little bit forgotten place, but worth visiting. Near Łęczyca, the house of Boruta, in the small village of Biesiekierski, we can find the ruins of a castle with a moat restored a few years ago. The place is neat, although modest, without information about the place, without any historical features, and this one is nice and is related to the aforementioned Boruta. A nice spot for a quick trip or on the way to Łęczyca.

Paula Dutkowska (2 years ago)
Lovely place, you can see that the locals are trying to do something about the castle grounds. The moat is cleaned, we have a footbridge to the island, and if necessary, a shelter to rest or hide from the rain. In addition, a quiet path was made around the island. Theoretically no parking, but there is free space, already full of cars.

Pils Premium (3 years ago)
Same ruiny

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn)

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