The archaic beluard is particularly valuable as a very rare form of fortification in Poland.

History

Mediaeval accounts suggest that its founder was probably the father of Piotr and Klemens Rożen of the Gryf coat of arms and of unknown name. Therefore, the castle can be assumed to have been erected in the period between 1336 and 1370. The castrum is first referenced in historical sources no earlier than in 1370. The Rożen family owned the castle until the beginning of the 15th century; after that, it was held by Mikołaj Kurowski and his brother Piotr. In 1426 Zawisza the Black of Garbów, Sulima coat of arms, purchased the property. Thanks to the marriage of Zawisza’s granddaughter, at the beginning of the 16th century, Rożnów, along with the nearby villages, became the property of the Leliwita family of Tarnów. At that time, the castle was no longer used. Around the middle of the 16th century, the military commander Jan Amor Tarnowski began the construction a modern defensive castle below the mediaeval stronghold. This was a response to the Turkish threat. After Tarnowski’s death, the project was halted.

Description

The fragmentary remains of the stone castle can be found on the narrowing of a promontory, originally surrounded by a bend of the Dunajec River. Currently, they overlook the high shore of Lake Rożnów. The preserved remains of the complex indicate that the stone castle was erected on a rectangular plan of approx. 20 x 44 m. To this day, relatively high south and east walls and a section of the south-east corner of the building have survived. Of the internal structures, only the lower parts of two partition walls protruding from the north wall of the castle can be seen today. The ruins of the mediaeval castle have never been subject to excavation research. Some surveying and inventory work has been carried out by Władysław Łuszczkiewicz and Gabriel Leńczyk. The lack of research does not make it easy to tell the precise time of operation of the complex. From the unfinished Renaissance castle, as demonstrated by archaeological evidence, only the gate houses and the beluard, a prototype of future bastion, have remained to our times. This is one of the oldest monuments of defensive structures in Poland. It was erected from dimension blocks on an elongated polygon plan and covered with a domed vault. The walls, equipped with cross loopholes (arrowslits), are crowned with a cornice with machicolation.

Opening hours: the site can be viewed from the outside without restrictions.

Author of the note Stanisław Kołodziejski, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Kraków 1/10/2014

Bibliography

• Gruszecki A., Bastionowe zamki w Małopolsce, Warszawa 1962, pp. 242-247
• Guerquin B., Zamki w Polsce, Warszawa 1984, pp. 276-277.
• Bogdanowski J., Zagadka beluardu w Rożnowie, Spraw. PAN, vol. XII/1:1968, pp. 375-377.
• Kruczek K., Rozwój zamkowych elementów obronnych w dorzeczu górnej Wisły na przykładach badanych przez PAK PP PKZ, Oddział w Krakowie, [in:] Badania archeologiczne Pracowni Konserwacji Zabytków, Studia i Materiały 1988, Warszawa, p. 184, 185
• Kajzer L. Kołodziejski S., Salm L, Leksykon zamków w Polsce, Warszawa 2001.
• Kołodziejski S., Średniowieczne rezydencje obronne możnowładztwa na terenie województwa krakowskiego, Kraków 1994, pp. 170-171
• KZS, vol. I, pp. 324-325.