Niepolomice Castle, Niepolomice, Poland

The Niepolomice Royal Castle is a Gothic castle from the mid-14th century and rebuilt in the late Renaissance style.

The Niepolomice Castle was built by order of King Casimir III the Great on the slope of the Vistula valley, to serve as a retreat during the hunting expeditions to the nearby Niepolomice Forest. The castle consisted of three towers, buildings in the southern and eastern wing, and curtain walls around the courtyard. Sigismund I the Old rebuilt the structure, giving it the form of a quadrangle with an internal courtyard. Queen Bona Sforza's gardens were located on the southern flank.

In 1550 the great fire destroyed the east and north wings. The reconstruction works were conducted in 1551-1568 under the supervision of Tomasz Grzymala and a sculptor Santi Gucci. Since the end of the 16th century the castle passed into the hands of noble families of Curylo, Branicki and Lubomirski. At that time, only the small changes were made in the castle's interiors (fireplaces, ceilings). The construction of an arcade courtyard began in 1635 and was completed in 1637.

The Swedish-Brandenburgian invasion in 1655 brought an end to the magnificence of the building. The castle was transformed into a food store during the occupation. In the 18th century it was acquired by King Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III. The reconstruction of the former royal residence began in 1991, when it became the property of Niepolomice Municipality.

References:

Wikipedia

Castles and fortifications in Poland

User Reviews

Swami Prabuddhanand (2 years ago)
Nice castle. Unfortunately cafe was closed because of Xmas

Grzegorz Latocha (3 years ago)
Beautiful place, not so many ppl. Forest near by. Also a hotel in the castle is very pleasant and affordable ~50€ per night. Highly recommended.

daniel gie (3 years ago)
Wedding function at the castle. Wonderful idea. Well organised.

Luc Trigaux (3 years ago)
Clean, quiet, original and helpful. Good possibilities for conference and business meeting. I did not expect to have such a good stay.

Andrea Melkuhn (3 years ago)
Niepolomice hunting castle is an impressive castle in Poland. I really loved every minute I spent there. The local guide there was excellent and I can't wait to take another group there . I surely recommend this place. Kids likes it too,not only adults

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