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Castle in Spytkowice, today State Archives - Zabytek.pl

Castle in Spytkowice, today State Archives


castle 1498 Spytkowice

Address
Spytkowice, Zamkowa 48

Location
woj. małopolskie, pow. wadowicki, gm. Spytkowice

A defensive residence with complex layers from various historical phases.

A form characteristic of Carpathian castles (castellum) but in an extended version.

History

The foundation of Spytkowice dates back to at least the beginning of the 13th century. It is possible that at that time it had a duke’s stronghold. In 1229 (or in 1228 according to other sources) Henry the Bearded held a rally of the nobles in Spytkowice, during which he was captured by Konrad Mazowiecki’s people. The village was owned by the Dukes of Oświęcim and Zator until 1492 (formally until 1498). Later, it was held by Piotr Myszkowski of the Jastrzębiec coat of arms. He was probably the founder of the defensive residence which passed on to his son Wawrzyniec and his grandson Mikołaj. The castle in Spytkowice is mentioned for the first time in a document from 1543. It described it as “castrum seu fortalicium.” Before 1630, Bishop Marcin Szyszkowski expanded and transformed the castle into a Baroque residence. Later, the lords of Spytkowice were the Opalińskis, Lubomirskis, and Potockis. As a result of a fire and the warfare in 1945, the castle was badly damaged. The first survey of the site was carried out by Andrzej Żaki in 1957. Later, the state Pracownia Archeologiczna PKZ company from Kraków resumed archaeological and architectural research in the years 1973-1978 (led by T. Dębowski and E. Dworaczyński). The project also involved an architectural survey by Andrzej Krupiński. The restoration of the complex began in the late 1970s. Today it houses a branch of the National Archives in Kraków.

Description

The preserved building, referred to as a defensive mansion or castle, is situated in a valley, at the northern edge of the village. It represents the 17th-century expansion phase. The complex is a stone, two-level structure with a basement. It has three wings enclosing a rectangular yard. The front wing on a rectangular plan is flanked at the corners by square towers. It was established that the defensive layout was established in the first phase of development at the end of the 15th century. It had an uneven quadrilateral plan with two towers in the north corners and a rectangular keep (most probably) at the south-east corner. At the east wall of the yard, a wooden building was unearthed, probably a tower, erected in a pole system. Its dimensions were 11.5 x 9.8 x 11.2 x 10.3 m. Perhaps, it pre-dated the construction of the stone residence. During the reconstruction in the years 1520-1530, a single-bay, three-axis palace with a basement and one floor was erected in the south-east section of the present-day south wing.

Opening hours: limited sightseeing is possible upon the consent of the director of the National Archives in Kraków

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

Bibliography

  • 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. 178-179
  • KZS, vol. I, pp. 497-498.

Category: castle

Architecture: Gothic

Building material:  brick

Protection: Register of monuments, Monuments records

Inspire id: PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_N_12_BK.220124, PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_E_12_BK.370031