Oporów Castle, Oporów, Poland - SpottingHistory.com

Oporów Castle is built of bricks in the Gothic architectural style in between 1434–1449 in the village of Oporów The castle was raised by the Deputy Chancellor of Poland (1429-1434), and highly regarded religious leader Władysław Oporowski.

The first wooden stronghold located in Oporów was recorded in the fourteenth century. The castle is said to have been raised by Mikołaj Oporowski and his son Władysław Oporowski, a highly regarded political and religious leader in the Kingdom of Poland, which in 1428 took on the estate as his own. Up until the eighteenth century the castle was owned by several families: House of Sołołobów, Korzeniowski, Pociejów and the House Oborski. The residence had only once ever been hit by any sort of devastation - in 1657 the castle's top levels caught fire - however, all of the castle was reconstructed. In 1930 the castle was transferred to the Society of the Credit of Land in Warsaw (Polish: Towarzystwo Kredytowe Ziemskie w Warszawie). After World War II the castle was nationalised and reconstructed. In 1949 the castle began housing a museum.

References:

Wikipedia

Castles and fortifications in Poland

User Reviews

W RR (8 months ago)
Prime medieval castle off the track in pretty park

Muhammad Mahfuzur Rahman (9 months ago)
A little nice castle out of nowhere. About one and half hours drive from Warsaw. The 14th century main building is very nicely maintained. Red brick facade, Gothic-styled roof and parapet, narrow strip of water-body around the plinth, and a large forest like park around the castle make the area stunning. There is not much to do here other than seeing some exhibits inside the castle. Some furniture and paintings are nice. It would have been better if there could be something more either in the park or around the complex to make it more feasible for the tourists to spend a day or half.

Filip (10 months ago)
Nice place for a walk

Lasura (11 months ago)
Almost like out of a (very Gothic) fairy tale! Well preserved, beautiful castle sitting on a small island, the architecture is stunning and the exhibits enduce jealousy. At the same time everything seems very cosy, like you could move in anytime. The staff was very helpful, we were able to communicate well despite us knowing very little Polish. There are descriptions for exhibits and a short history in English!

Arkadiusz Czekajski (2 years ago)
Very nice and picturesque little castle surrounded by a pond and a park. I came there only for the piano concert but interiors also looked really interesting. And it seems that events like that are organized there regularly.

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Heraclea Lyncestis

Heraclea Lyncestis was an ancient Greek city in Macedon, ruled later by the Romans. It was founded by Philip II of Macedon in the middle of the 4th century BC. The city was named in honor of the mythological hero Heracles. The name Lynkestis originates from the name of the ancient kingdom, conquered by Philip, where the city was built.

Heraclea was a strategically important town during the Hellenistic period, as it was at the edge of Macedon"s border with Epirus to the west and Paeonia to the north, until the middle of the 2nd century BC, when the Romans conquered Macedon and destroyed its political power. The main Roman road in the area, Via Egnatia went through Heraclea, and Heraclea was an important stop. The prosperity of the city was maintained mainly due to this road.

The Roman emperor Hadrian built a theatre in the center of the town, on a hill, when many buildings in the Roman province of Macedonia were being restored. It began being used during the reign of Antoninus Pius. Inside the theatre there were three animal cages and in the western part a tunnel. The theatre went out of use during the late 4th century AD, when gladiator fights in the Roman Empire were banned, due to the spread of Christianity, the formulation of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the abandonment of, what was then perceived as, pagan rituals and entertainment.

Late Antiquity and Byzantine periods

In the early Byzantine period (4th to 6th centuries AD) Heraclea was an important episcopal centre. A small and a great basilica, the bishop"s residence, and a funerary basilica and the necropolis are some of the remains of this period. Three naves in the Great Basilica are covered with mosaics of very rich floral and figurative iconography; these well preserved mosaics are often regarded as fine examples of the early Christian art period.

The city was sacked by Ostrogoth/Visigoth forces, commanded by Theodoric the Great in 472 AD and again in 479 AD. It was restored in the late 5th and early 6th century. When an earthquake struck in 518 AD, the inhabitants of Heraclea gradually abandoned the city. Subsequently, at the eve of the 7th century, the Dragovites, a Slavic tribe pushed down from the north by the Avars, settled in the area. The last coin issue dates from ca. 585, which suggests that the city was finally captured by the Slavs. As result, in place of the deserted city theatre several huts were built.

The Episcopacy Residence was excavated between 1970 and 1975. The western part was discovered first and the southern side is near the town wall. The luxury rooms are located in the eastern part. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th rooms all have mosaic floors. Between the 3rd and 4th rooms there is a hole that led to the eastern entrance of the residence. The hole was purposefully created between the 4th and 6th century.

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