History

The original castle was built probably in the early 13th century. It was a stronghold where duke Henry the Bearded resided. The castle was probably comprised of a rectangular residential building and a quadrangular yard circumscribed by a high curtain wall. It is believed that fragments of the original complex have survived until today in the internal wall of the western and northern wing of the present castle. After the death of Henry the Bearded in Krosno (1238), in 1241, Hedwig of Silesia with duchess Anna (her daughter-in-law) and nuns from the Cistercian monastery in Trzebnica moved to the castle. In the 14th and the 15th century century, owing to the efforts of dukes of Głogów, the castle was extended. At that time, the complex was comprised of the northern and the southern wing, and a gate house on the west with a tower. After 1476, at the time when Barbara, the widow of Henry XI of Głogów, resided in the castle, the interiors of the building were significantly modified. The works lasted until the beginning of the 16th century. In 1570, at the request of margrave John George, further construction works were commenced during which the southern wing was probably re-designed and a Renaissance cloister was built. In the lower section, semi-circular arcades were arranged, and on the first floor the cloister was decorated with a row of little columns. Another modification was ordered by the Swedish who commenced, in 1633, the construction of a stronghold. The castle was separated from the town and circumscribed by an additional wall and a moat. On the north-eastern side, earthen breastwork was built. The castle - the headquarters of staff - was connected with the town by a drawbridge. The collapse of the castle started in the 18th century. In the next century, the structure was adapted for military warehouses and a gunpowder house. In 1945, the castle was destroyed together with a significant number of the old town buildings.

Description

The present appearance of the castle in Krosno is a result of protective works carried out at the ruins in the years 1964-1966, and then reconstruction of the gate house and restoration, in 2009, of the southern wing. The castle, which was mostly built from brick, was entirely plastered. The stone and brick gate house is a three-storey building with a gate passageway leading to the castle courtyard. The courtyard was cleaned up of debris and rendered available for the visitors of the remnants of the courtyard a couple of years ago. An inseparable element of the gate house is an octagonal tower with a staircase inside, leading to the first floor where a museum room and a tourist information office have been arranged. With the restoration of the southern wing, the exhibition area of the museum significantly increased. The plastered wing is a two-storey building with the cloister mentioned above from the courtyard. It is covered with a hip roof. The northern and western wings are in ruin; along with the basements with barrel and double barrel vaults, they underwent conservation works a couple of years ago.

The building is accessible all year round.

compiled by Krzysztof Garbacz, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Zielona Góra, 09-03-2015.

Bibliography

• Garbacz K., Gród i zamek - przyczynek do poznania najstarszych dziejów Krosna Odrzańskiego, „Lubuskie Materiały Konserwatorskie”, t. 11, 2014, s. 150-152.
• Garbacz K., Przewodnik po zabytkach województwa lubuskiego, t. 1: Powiaty: zielonogórski - świebodziński - krośnieński, Zielona Góra 2014 (wyd. 2), s. 210-212, fot. 99-100.
• Kowalski S., Miasta Środkowego Nadodrza dawniej. Historia zapisana w zabytkach, Zielona Góra 1994, s. 73-74.
• Kowalski S., Zabytki architektury województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2010, s. 176-177.