Czchów Castle Ruins, Czchów, Poland

The history of the Czchów Castle dates back to the 13th century, when a Romanesque watchtower was built here. In the 14th century, a defensive castle was added to the tower. It became the residence of the Czchów starostas, and was destroyed in the Swedish wars of the mid-17th century. Finally, the castle lost its military importance, and was turned into a prison, which was closed in 1772, after the first partition of Poland. Currently, the only remaining parts of the complex are a 14th-century tower and foundations of the defensive wall.

References:

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User Reviews

Klaudiusz Dzik (8 months ago)
Bardzo fajny pomysł na rewitalizację.

Zołza Maruda (9 months ago)
Bywam czasami w Czchowie i... Hm...zobaczyć można raz lub dwa, być może będą jakieś konkretne atrakcje po skończonym remoncie. Szkoda wielka, że w samym Rynku, czyli sercu „miasta” nie ma ani jednego miejsca, gdzie można zjeść obiad. Trzeba zabrać ze sobą bułki...

Krzysztof Langiewicz (10 months ago)
Miejsce urocze przed wejściem na ścieżkę prowadzącą do wieży ładnie zagospodarowane. Na górze remont, jakieś fundamenty były to może za jakiś czas ukaże się na wzgórzu cały zamek.

Wieslaw Zabawa (11 months ago)
To kolejny obiekt w dzisiejszej Małopolsce, który kona. Może prace, które są tu prowadzone to zmienią. Oby tak się stało, bo z wielką przykrością ogląda się miejsca z wielowiekową historią skazane z różnych względów na ruinę i zapomnienie.

Joanna Latocha (21 months ago)
Picturesque Romanesque castle ruins. What's left of the original 14th century castle is a part of a tower. Apparently there are some renovation plans, although it's difficult to say when the renovation will be completed. During my visit few years back it was impossible to climb to the top of the tower (maybe it has changed...?). The place is rather quiet, not many tourists around. Not much to see just yet, but definitely worth a short visit.

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Czocha Castle is located on the Lake Leśnia, what is now the Polish part of Upper Lusatia. Czocha castle was built on gneiss rock, and its oldest part is the keep, to which housing structures were later added.

Czocha Castle began as a stronghold, on the Czech-Lusatian border. Its construction was ordered by Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, in the middle of the 13th century (1241–1247). In 1253 castle was handed over to Konrad von Wallhausen, Bishop of Meissen. In 1319 the complex became part of the dukedom of Henry I of Jawor, and after his death, it was taken over by another Silesian prince, Bolko II the Small, and his wife Agnieszka. Origin of the stone castle dates back to 1329.

In the mid-14th century, Czocha Castle was annexed by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia. Then, between 1389 and 1453, it belonged to the noble families of von Dohn and von Kluks. Reinforced, the complex was besieged by the Hussites in the early 15th century, who captured it in 1427, and remained in the castle for unknown time (see Hussite Wars). In 1453, the castle was purchased by the family of von Nostitz, who owned it for 250 years, making several changes through remodelling projects in 1525 and 1611. Czocha's walls were strengthened and reinforced, which thwarted a Swedish siege of the complex during the Thirty Years War. In 1703, the castle was purchased by Jan Hartwig von Uechtritz, influential courtier of Augustus II the Strong. On August 17, 1793, the whole complex burned in a fire.

In 1909, Czocha was bought by a cigar manufacturer from Dresden, Ernst Gutschow, who ordered major remodelling, carried out by Berlin architect Bodo Ebhardt, based on a 1703 painting of the castle. Gutschow, who was close to the Russian Imperial Court and hosted several White emigres in Czocha, lived in the castle until March 1945. Upon leaving, he packed up the most valuable possessions and moved them out.

After World War II, the castle was ransacked several times, both by soldiers of the Red Army, and Polish thieves, who came to the so-called Recovered Territories from central and eastern part of the country. Pieces of furniture and other goods were stolen, and in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the castle was home to refugees from Greece. In 1952, Czocha was taken over by the Polish Army. Used as a military vacation resort, it was erased from official maps. The castle has been open to the public since September 1996 as a hotel and conference centre. The complex was featured in several movies and television series. Recently, the castle has been used as the setting of the College of Wizardry, a live action role-playing game (LARP) that takes place in their own universe and can be compared to Harry Potter.

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