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:Varberg Fortress was built in 1287-1300 by count Jacob Nielsen as protection against his Danish king, who had declared him an outlaw after the murder of King Eric V of Denmark. Jacob had close connections with king Eric II of Norway and as a result got substantial Norwegian assistance with the construction. The fortress, as well as half the county, became Norwegian in 1305.
King Eric's grand daughter, Ingeborg Håkansdotter, inherited the area from her father, King Haakon V of Norway. She and her husband, Eric, Duke of Södermanland, established a semi-independent state out of their Norwegian, Swedish and Danish counties until the death of Erik. They spent considerable time at the fortress. Their son, King Magnus IV of Sweden (Magnus VII of Norway), spent much time at the fortress as well.
The fortress was augmented during the late 16th and early 17th century on order by King Christian IV of Denmark. However, after the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645 the fortress became Swedish. It was used as a military installation until 1830 and as a prison from the end of the 17th Century until 1931.
It is currently used as a museum and bed and breakfast as well as private accommodation. The moat of the fortress is said to be inhabited by a small lake monster. In August 2006, a couple of witnesses claimed to have seen the monster emerge from the dark water and devour a duck. The creature is described as brown, hairless and with a 40 cm long tail.