History

Around the mid-13th century, Vok, knight from Rosenberg, built a castle on a hill by the Prudnik river. To the east, at the foot of the castle, there was a trading settlement, which gave rise to the town soon after. The castle complex, fenced by a wall independent of municipal fortifications, was in poor technical condition as early as the 16th century. The castle was burned in 1806 and finally demolished in 1844. Its site was used for the construction of a garrison stable complex. The remnants of the medieval fortress include only a stone cylindrical tower called the Vok tower. It dates from the 13th/14th century. In the 15th century it was extended upwards by an octagonal part. In the 20th century, the condition of the tower devoid of roof deteriorated. Its present form is the result of conservation and restoration work in 2009. The tower is used as a viewing point.

Description

The cylindrical tower is located on the west side of the Market Square, on the hospital grounds. Its walls were built of field stones. The top section of the tower is octagonal; the tower terminates in a wooden porch and a pyramid roof, which are the results of work carried out several years ago. To the north, on one of the upper storeys, there is a door opening enclosed in stone surrounds, with supports, on which a ladder or stairs used as a means of access rested.

The tower is open to visitors. Information: Museum of the Prudnik Region in Prudnik.

compiled by JS, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 01-08-2015.

Bibliography

• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, vol. VII: Województwo opolskie, T. Chrzanowski, M. Kornecki (eds.), issue 12: Powiat prudnicki, prepared by T. Chrzanowski, M. Kornecki, Warsaw 1960
• Lutsch H., Verzeichnis der Kunstdenkmäler der Provinz Schlesien, Lutsch Hans, Verzeichnis der Kunstdenkmäler der Provinz Schlesien, Bd. 4: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Reg.-Bezirks Oppeln, Tl. 2, Breslau 1894
• Weltzel A., Geschichte der Stadt Neustadt in Oberschlesien, Neustadt 1870
• Zabytki sztuki w Polsce. Śląsk, collective work, Warsaw 2006