Location and description

The remains of the castle are located in the Kamienne Mountains, to the south east of the Grzędy village, on a small hill situated among waterlogged meadows.

The structure consists of a quadrangular central section, its dimensions being 50 x 60 metres, as well as of a moat between 10 and 20 metres wide and about 1.5 metres deep. In the middle of the complex there is a mound which conceals the remnants of whit might have originally been a residential keep. Fragments of the tower walls can be seen on the southern side of the mound. The building was originally constructed using split stones - pieces of a reddish conglomerate rock - bound together using lime mortar.

History

According to tentative estimates, the castle was originally constructed between the 13th century (although this is debatable) and the year 1437. The earliest references to the castle in written sources date to the period before 1355. Some believe that the complex may have been built before the year 1324, although no evidence has been found so far to support this claim. In 1364, the castle was referred to as the property of Bolko II, the duke of Jawor and Świdnica. During the very same year, the castle was acquired by the von Hackenborn brothers, who sold it to the Bolcze brothers and to their cousin, Mikołaj von Czeisberge, a mere ten years later. The castle was subsequently acquired by Půta of Častalovice, the alderman (starosta) of Kłodzk and Ząbkowice and a chamberlain to the Bohemian king. Later on, the castle is known to have remained in the hands of Hermann von Zettritz and his sons. During the Hussite wars (years 1429 and 1437) the castle was destroyed. In 1466, the final disaster came, as what remained of the castle was ransacked and abandoned forever. The ruins are known to have been put to use as a source of stone material during the 19th century by the owners of the site (the von Zettritz family and later the von Zedlitz family).

Condition and results of archaeological research

Before 1945, many individuals have been conducting surface surveys on the site of the former castle. Verification surveys and cleanup works on the site were conducted in the years 1960 and 1982. In 1986, a series of surface surveys were performed within the framework of the “Archaeological Picture of Poland” research programme. The site still requires archaeological and architectural research which would make it possible to determine the exact layout of the defensive complex as well as to verify various assumptions made by researchers in the past. In the process of the surveys referred to above, fragments of bricks and ceramic vessels have been found.

The site is accessible to visitors. The burgstall in Grzędy forms part of the main tourist route leading across the Sudety Mountains, named after Mieczysław Orłowicz and leading from Świeradów Zdrój to Prudnik.

compiled by Donata Trenkler, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Wrocław, 01-10-2014

Bibliography

• Archaeological Picture of Poland, site 87-20, sheets 1/30.
• Grodziska średniowieczne - katalog [typescript available in Archive of the Regional Monument Protection Office in Wrocław].
• Boguszewicz A., Corona Silesiae. Zamki Piastów fürstenberskich na południowym pograniczu księstwa jaworskiego, świdnickiego i ziębickiego do połowy XIV wieku, Wrocław 2010, pp. 214-216;
• Kajzer L., Kołodziejski S., Salm J. Leksykon zamków w Polsce, Warszawa 2002, p. 201.