The first castle in Głogówek was built by the Piasts from the Opole line probably in the 13th century. In the years 1532-1561, the Zeidlitz family took the castle over from the previous owners; in 1561 it was in possession of the Oppersdorffs. They decided to demolish the Gothic building and replace it with a Renaissance structure which has survived - only with minor transformations - to the present day.
The first project was the upper castle with the duke’s chamber and corner towers (1561-1606); from 1606, the lower castle was developed along with a chapel. In the years 1743-1781, the sough wing of the lower castle was expanded and Baroque detailed were added; in the mid-19th century, part of the castle was rebuilt under the supervision of an architect named Gluck.
During the Swedish invasion in 1655, the castle was home to King Jan Kazimierz and his court, and in 1806 it was visited by Ludwig van Beethoven fleeing from the Napoleon’s army.In 1945 the last member of the Oppersdorff family left the castle which has ever since changed hands and has served different functions: youth hostel, regional museum, art gallery, and culture centre. Today, the building is owned by the municipality again and restoration works are underway.
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The Cloth Hall in Kraków dates to the Renaissance and is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the main market square in the Kraków Old Town (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978).
The hall was once a major centre of international trade. Traveling merchants met there to discuss business and to barter. During its golden age in the 15th century, the hall was the source of a variety of exotic imports from the east – spices, silk, leather and wax – while Kraków itself exported textiles, lead, and salt from the Wieliczka Salt Mine.
Kraków was Poland's capital city and was among the largest cities in Europe already from before the time of the Renaissance. However, its decline started with the move of the capital to Warsaw in the very end of the 16th century. The city's decline was hastened by wars and politics leading to the Partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th century. By the time of the architectural restoration proposed for the cloth hall in 1870 under Austrian rule, much of the historic city center was decrepit. A change in political and economic fortunes for the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria ushered in a revival due to newly established Legislative Assembly or Sejm of the Land. The successful renovation of the Cloth Hall, based on design by Tomasz Pryliński and supervised by Mayor Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz, Sejm Marshal, was one of the most notable achievements of this period.
The hall has hosted many distinguished guests over the centuries and is still used to entertain monarchs and dignitaries, such as Charles, Prince of Wales and Emperor Akihito of Japan, who was welcomed here in 2002. In the past, balls were held here, most notably after Prince Józef Poniatowski had briefly liberated the city from the Austrians in 1809. Aside from its history and cultural value, the hall still is still used as a center of commerce.
On the upper floor of the hall is the Sukiennice Museum division of the National Museum, Kraków. It holds the largest permanent exhibit of the 19th-century Polish painting and sculpture, in four grand exhibition halls arranged by historical period and the theme extending into an entire artistic epoch. The museum was upgraded in 2010 with new technical equipment, storerooms, service spaces as well as improved thematic layout for the display.
The Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art was a major cultural venue from the moment it opened on October 7, 1879. It features late Baroque, Rococo, and Classicist 18th-century portraits and battle scenes by Polish and foreign pre-Romantics.