Swiny Castle, Gmina Bolków, Poland

Świny Castle, formerly a gord, as a stronghold existed in its location already in the 5th century - securing the Lubawecki mountain pass, the site was recorded in Cosmas' documents from 1108, where the gord is recorded as Suini in Poloniae. Possibly, soon after, the gord had been expanded into a military stronghold, at which time it was the seat of the castellans. The castle was mentioned in Pope Adrian IV's Papal bull. After the Bolków Castle was constructed, the castle began to lose its significance, this continued up to the nineteenth century, when the castle suffered severe damage due to hurricanes (1762, 1840, 1848, and 1868). The castle suffered further devastation - it was not until 1931 when the authorities had engaged in securing the castle's ruins. Currently the castle is privately owned.

References:

Castles and fortifications in Poland

User Reviews

Katarzyna Kretowicz (3 months ago)
B)

Владимир Ипатьев (7 months ago)
Very good!!!

Morris Laflamme (8 months ago)
Great place to visit. Peaceful.

klamka23 (8 months ago)
I was there at 7pm sunday. Castle was closed for visiting so we did trip around the walls and was nice. I will be back here when Gates are open.

Kiryl Maushuk (10 months ago)
The only thing you can see here is just the remains of walls, but they are remained pretty well in all their scale. Good to see the scale of the building where you can go everywhere inside. In this case it's even more interesting than freshly renovated bigger castles, because the spirit of that epoch is not ruined by fresh plaster and overall cleaniness. That's only my point but may be yours as well. Don't expect to spend much time there, but it will be a pleasant time.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Honza Soukup

Historic Site of the week

Angelokastro

Angelokastro is a Byzantine castle on the island of Corfu. It is located at the top of the highest peak of the island"s shoreline in the northwest coast near Palaiokastritsa and built on particularly precipitous and rocky terrain. It stands 305 m on a steep cliff above the sea and surveys the City of Corfu and the mountains of mainland Greece to the southeast and a wide area of Corfu toward the northeast and northwest.

Angelokastro is one of the most important fortified complexes of Corfu. It was an acropolis which surveyed the region all the way to the southern Adriatic and presented a formidable strategic vantage point to the occupant of the castle.

Angelokastro formed a defensive triangle with the castles of Gardiki and Kassiopi, which covered Corfu"s defences to the south, northwest and northeast.

The castle never fell, despite frequent sieges and attempts at conquering it through the centuries, and played a decisive role in defending the island against pirate incursions and during three sieges of Corfu by the Ottomans, significantly contributing to their defeat.

During invasions it helped shelter the local peasant population. The villagers also fought against the invaders playing an active role in the defence of the castle.

The exact period of the building of the castle is not known, but it has often been attributed to the reigns of Michael I Komnenos and his son Michael II Komnenos. The first documentary evidence for the fortress dates to 1272, when Giordano di San Felice took possession of it for Charles of Anjou, who had seized Corfu from Manfred, King of Sicily in 1267.

From 1387 to the end of the 16th century, Angelokastro was the official capital of Corfu and the seat of the Provveditore Generale del Levante, governor of the Ionian islands and commander of the Venetian fleet, which was stationed in Corfu.

The governor of the castle (the castellan) was normally appointed by the City council of Corfu and was chosen amongst the noblemen of the island.

Angelokastro is considered one of the most imposing architectural remains in the Ionian Islands.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

Swiny Castle

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania

Cultural Landscape of Sintra, Portugal

Historic Site of the week

Angelokastro

Looks like you are a history fan!