Over centuries, the castle was redesigned on numerous occasions. The biggest attraction of the complex is the castle tower and its basements with a dungeon. It is the best preserved medieval building in Western Poland. The castle is part of a defensive complex of the town and an important example of defensive architecture in the Lubusz region.

History

The building was erected in the place of a early medieval Slavic hillfort, approx. in 1304. In the early 16th century, the castle was take over by Brandenburg margraves and was used as a seat of their representatives. In the time of Silesian Piasts, it was a local centre of ducal administration (district), and thereafter - in the period when it belonged to Germany, it was used as a local seat by officials of the Brandenburg Elector. For the first time, it was extended in the 15th century. In the late 16th century, the castle was redesigned. In 1633, Sulechów and the castle were destroyed in a fire. A couple of years later, the castle was rebuilt. From one side, it was circumscribed by a rampart with moats, and from the other - with a wall. It is not known, however, what shape the building had at that time. The map of Sulechów from 1722 shows only that the castle was a three-wing building within the town walls. Together with the town, it constituted a uniform defensive system. In the 19th century, the useless eastern and northern parts of the castle were dismantled, and in their place, more useful buildings were erected, intended mostly for residential purposes. Only one edifice, which was the biggest in the past, has survived of the castle complex - it is a rectangular, two-storey western wing, re-designed in the 18th century, and a four-storey Gothic tower. Underneath the whole structure, there is a surviving single-space basement covered with a barrel vault from the 16th century. After World War II, the castle fell into disuse. In the years 2007-2010, it was revitalised with an aim of full-scale renovation, adaptation, and conversion of the castle complex. The works involved, among other things, reinforcement of walls and refurbishment of the façade. Architectural detail on the façade was restored. New window and door woodwork was installed. The roof was insulated, the sheet metal cladding of the gable was repaired, gutters and drainpipes were mounted. The roof of the tower and the castle was covered with roof tiles. The latrine bay was reconstructed, as well as Gothic slit window openings. Inside, new floors and wooden flooring were laid. In the south-eastern corner, a brick staircase was reconstructed, and partition walls built at a later time than the construction of the castle were removed. Brick faces of the walls were subjected to conservation works. The renovation of the castle, located in the centre of the town, contributed to restoring the past glory of this valuable historical building.

Description

The castle in Sulechów is located in the north-eastern part of the town, at 2 Wielkopolska Street, on an artificial hill located on plots of land no. 583/3 and 589/3. Initially, the castle complex in Sulechów had the form of a compact quadrilateral, but in the 19th century, the eastern and northern wings were dismantled. Currently, it comprises the western wing of the former castle and the tower adjoining it from the north. By the tower, on its western side, there is a former Calvinist congregation, and on the north-western side - the building of the Cultural Centre of Sulechów. The castle was re-designed in the late Classicist style. The surviving wing of the castle is formed by a two-storey building, 16.5 m high, with a loft, covered with a gable roof clad in ceramic tiles. The four-storey tower, 24.4 high, has basements underneath and is covered with a tented roof clad in beaver tail tiles.

The castle is supervised by the Culture Centre of Sulechów. The monument is broadly accessible to the public and is one of the main attractions for both the inhabitants of the town and visitors to the Lubuskie Voivodeship.

compiled by Krzysztof Słowiński, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Zielona Góra, 27-06-2014.

Bibliography

• Stanisław Kowalski i Jan Muszyński, Studium historyczno- urbanistyczne Sulechowa, Zielona Góra 1993 r.; Stanisław Kowalski, Zabytki architektury województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2010; red. Zygmunta Barasa, Sulechów i okolice, Poznań 1985 r.;
• Leon Okowiński, Siedem wieków Sulechowa, Sulechów 2000 r.; Leon Okowiński, Sulechów : pradzieje, geneza, rozwój, Sulechów 2006; Leon Okowiński., Sulechów przez stulecia : szkice z przeszłości miasta i okolic od pradziejów do 1945 roku., Sulechów 2007.