Leczyca Castle

Łęczyca, Poland

The Łęczyca Royal Castle was erected by Casimir III the Great as a fortification during 1357–1370. Immediately after its completion, the Castle became a residence of king, and then was the seat of the governor of Łęczyca. In 1406 it was burned by the Teutonic Knights and rebuilt in the following years to serve as a place of a conference in 1409, where decisions were taken in connection with the approaching war with the Order. After the Battle of Grunwald many of the Teutonic Knights were incarcerated here. In subsequent years, four diets were held here (1420, 1448, 1454 and 1462), and the castle became the seat of the king Casimir IV Jagiellon during another war with the Order (1454-1466).

After a great fire in the second half of the 15th century the castle remained in ruins till the early 1560s. Then, in 1563–1565, Jan Lutomirski, Grand Treasurer of the Crown completely rebuilt the castle. The cost of the entire project amounted to nearly 3,000 florins, derived from the royal treasury. The disasters that struck the stronghold in the first half of the 17th century helped the Swedish General Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge to take the castle, which was defended by starosta Jakub Olbrycht Szczawiński, during the Deluge in 1655. The destruction was completed in 1707 during another Swedish occupation.

Over the next years local residents used the remains of the castle as a source of building materials. After the World War II, the castle became the seat of the scout troop, and in 1964 reconstruction started.

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Address

Zamkowa 1, Łęczyca, Poland
See all sites in Łęczyca

Details

Founded: 1357-1370
Category: Castles and fortifications in Poland

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Kay Wiesenauer (2 years ago)
A nice twist into the castle and into the lord , who was accused of having a pact with the devil and also tried to ripp off a cross of a church after he gotten it instead of a tavern. On top a lot of old relics from stone till the early medival age.
Linda (2 years ago)
Pretty castle, absolutely worth a visit. It’s small but the inside is very mysterious for its channels and rooms and the museum is very interesting. Nice town view from the top of the tower. All descriptions are in polish, no english!
W RR (4 years ago)
Respectable reconstruction
The Lazy Traveler (4 years ago)
Not very impressive
Elena Holianska (4 years ago)
The Museum in Łęczyca exists from 1949 and it’s the one and only this kind of place in our administrative district. Its seat is the XIV century defensive castle which was built during the reign of King Kazimierz Wielki in the south-east border of this mediaeval city. Monumental Gothic building, which was visited by polish Kings: Władysław Jagiełło and Kazimierz Jagiellończyk, was rebuilt in the Renaissance style (“a new house“) in the second half of XVI century by Jan Lutomirski – the diplomat, treasurer and votary of reformation in Poland during the reign of Zygmunt August. The XIX century Prussian “powder-magazine” is the remainder of Polish Republic decline.
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