The remains of the defensive building have never been studied by archaeological methods. Architectural surveys have only been limited to inventory-taking.

History

The village of Charzewice was purchased by the castellan of Kraków (1331-1350) Spycimir Leliwita in 1347. Soon after, he started building the second (besides Tarnów) family defensive residence called Melsztyn. Spytek handed over the property to his descendants, who took the name of Melsztyński. In 1511 Jan Melsztyński sold the property to Mikołaj Jordan from Zakliczyn, the castellan of Wojnicz. After the Jordans, the estate was in the hands of the Zborowski family and next of the Tarło family (for over a hundred years). After the death of Adam Tarła (1744), the defensive residence became the property of his nephews from the Lanckoroński family. In 1771 the castle was taken over by the Bar Confederates. The Cossacks ruin the building by setting it on fire. The residence was not rebuilt, and the local people began to dismantle the walls. It was not until 1879 that Karol Lanckoroński attempted to save the remains of the castle by fastening the walls with iron anchors and strengthening them with mortar.

Description

Three walls of the residential tower have survived. It was built on stone and brick on a rectangular plan measuring 10.5 x 15 m. The window openings reveal traces of Gothic or Renaissance stone frames. East of the tower, there are the remains of a residential building, a stone water tank and defensive walls. The main section of the oldest castle was a (probably) five-storey defensive and residential keep with open-plan interiors. The keep and its adjacent buildings were probably surrounded by a defensive wall running along the edges of an elongated (approx. 20 x 70 m) flattening of the hill. Inside the castle there was also a chapel confirmed in a document from 1362. The entrance was from the north-east side through the gate tower with a drawbridge over a moat. The castle was extended in the 16th century by the Jordan family. They erected a three-storey residential edifice, connected by wooden porches with the old tower, as well as utility outbuildings. Written records also mention three towers connected with the defensive walls as well as galleries in the courtyard. The castle requires thorough archaeological studies. The official owner of the castle is the Brzesko Forest Inspectorate. In 2005 the castle was taken over by Zakliczyn Commune for several years.

Opening hours: unrestricted access to the site.

Author of the note Stanisław Kołodziejski, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Kraków 30/9/2014

Bibliography

• Kajzer L. Kołodziejski S., Salm L, Leksykon zamków w Polsce, Warszawa 2001.
• Wyrobisz A., Budownictwo murowane w Małopolsce w XIV i XV wieku, Wrocław 1963.
• Zarewicz L., Leliwita Spicimir kasztelan krakowski (1312-1352) oraz monografia Melsztyna, Kraków 1890
• Krupiński A. B., Gniazdo rodu Leliwitów zamek w Melsztynie, Tarnów 1982
• Guerquin B., Zamki w Polsce, Warszawa 1984, pp. 213-214;
• Kołodziejski S., Średniowieczne rezydencje obronne możnowładztwa na terenie województwa krakowskiego, Kraków 1994, pp. 157-158