Moszna Castle

Moszna, Poland

The Moszna Castle is one of the best known monuments in the western part of Upper Silesia. The history of this building begins in the 17th century, although much older cellars were found in the gardens during excavations carried out at the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the investigators, including H. Barthel, claimed that those cellars could have been remnants of a presumed Templar castle, but their theory has never been proved. After World War II, further excavations discovered a medieval palisade.

The central part of the castle is an old baroque palace which was partially destroyed by fire on the night of April 2, 1896 and was reconstructed in the same year in its original form by Franz Hubert von Tiele-Winckler. The reconstruction works involved an extension of the residence. The eastern Neogothic-styled wing of the building was built by 1900, along with an adjacent orangery. In 1912-1914, the western wing was built in the Neo-Renaissance style. The architectural form of the castle contains a wide variety of styles, thus it can be generally defined as eclectic.

The height of the building, as well as its numerous turrets and spires, give the impression of verticalism. The whole castle has exactly ninety-nine turrets. Inside, it contains 365 rooms. The castle was twice visited by the German Emperor Wilhelm II. His participation in hunting during his stay at the castle was documented in a hand-written chronicle in 1911 as well as in the following year. The castle in Moszna was the residence of a Silesian family Tiele-Winckler who were industrial magnates, from 1866 until the spring of 1945 when they were forced to move to Germany and the castle was occupied by the Red Army. The period of the Soviet control caused significant damage to the castle's internal fittings in comparison to the minor damage caused by WWII.

After World War II the castle did not have a permanent owner and was the home of various institutions until 1972 when it became a convalescent home. Later it became a Public Health Care Centre for Therapies of Neuroses. Nowadays it can be visited by tourists since the health institution has moved to another building in the neighbourhood. The castle also has a chapel which is used as a concert hall. Since 1998 the castle housed a gallery in which works of various artists are presented at regular exhibitions.

Apart from the castle itself, the entire complex includes a park which has no precise boundaries and includes nearby fields, meadows and a forest. Only the main axis of the park can be characterised as geometrical. Starting from the gate, it leads along the oak and then horse-chestnut avenues, towards the castle. Further on, the park passes into an avenue of lime trees with symmetrical canals running along both sides of the path, lined with a few varieties of rhododendrons. The axis of the park terminates at the base of a former monument of Hubert von Tiele-Winckler. On the eastern side of the avenue there is a pond with an islet referred to by the owners as Easter Island. The islet is planted with needle-leaved shrubs and can be reached by a Chinese-styled bridge. The garden, as part of the whole park complex was restored slightly earlier than the castle itself. Preserved documents of 1868 state that the improvement in the garden's aesthetic quality was undertaken by Hubert von Tiele-Winckler.

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Address

Zamkowa 1, Moszna, Poland
See all sites in Moszna

Details

Founded: 1900
Category: Castles and fortifications in Poland

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

San Remo (2 years ago)
I was there as a visitor only. The beautiful palace, quite well preserved, even grabbed by Soviet troops after the war and used to service as the... mental hospital for prominents. Absolutely worth visiting. And I recommend the restaurant! Prices acceptable.
Angel Arenas (3 years ago)
Beautiful castle, and you can spend the night there. Extremely friendly reception people, big rooms with very high ceilings, excellent restaurant, prices very affordable, architecture like a dream. Highly recommended, put it to your must-do list.
Agata Wajzer (3 years ago)
It's being renovated right now and the front is covered with scaffolds and nets. The back looks great but the fountain is also not working. I was told they will complete the renovations by December 2022. The inside is amazing, but very few original pieces survived after Soviets destroyed everything. Still a great place to visit. I will definitely go back in 2023!
Stas Ivanov (3 years ago)
Quite nice castle with a relatively big but empty park around it. Some parts of castle's interior seem to be authentic, but it doesn't look like the interior was recreated in its entirety. It feels like there's quite some work to put in before this place shines. And the works were ongoing during our visit.
Michał L (3 years ago)
One of the most amazing castles to visit. I keep going back on the regular. Very well kept, beautiful grounds, extremely friendly staff. A pleasure all around. Grab the royal suite if you can, but the 'regular' suites are also amazing! :)
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