Castles and Palaces in Poland (with pictures)

Not the castle...it was build by the Order as "Marienburg".

The Poles can't stand any reminders of their german past and renamed it to "Malbork".
They did alot of renaming after '18 and '45.


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbork



ROFL, THEY BUILD MARIENBURG!


Sometimes I get the impression that when one takes out the polish things which are in core german there would be not much left...


The Hanse...another german thing...

If you enjoy castle ruins, I suggest you visit the Melszytn ruins located near the small town of Zakliczyn, which stands above the Dunajec river. There are MANY hidden tunnels located all around where the castle walls once stood, and numerous wall fragments and partial bastions still stand. Part of the former aqueduct still survives near the main structure and there is a tunnel in the aqueduct 'pit' which is supposed to lead far underground, underneath the Dunajec river. The authorities have sealed off this tunnel due to several reports of people entering it and never coming back. I live only 10 km East from Melsztyn. It's a great place to go hiking, have a picnic, and to do some mountain biking.

I fully agree!
That's why calling something german with a polish name still doesn't make it polish....

The German castle simply underwent Polanization :D

Yes you're right, it isn't a Polish castle, its just located in Poland nowadays, it was a castle of the German Teutonic Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary, i believe that was they're full name.

Malbork is a Polish name for Marienburg. Much like Warschau is German for Warszawa. The name of Marienburg was not changed after 45. The name was used by Poles much earlier. Just like the Polish city of Poznan, that had been know to germans as Posen.

The castle was purely German.


Are you counting in the buildings Germans destroyed during WW2 to get rid of the culture they claimed didn't even exist? The destruction was in the area of 60% of all buildings in pre WW2 Poland.

It's clear why the Poles want the castle to be called Malbork instead of Marienburg, being a symbol of Teutonic expansion and aggession. Calling it Malbork is like saying, "we won after all".

Don't look for meanings where there are none.
Germans call it Malbork too :)
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbork


No, not only.
They also use the name when they refer to the place because they need to on some occasions. The entry I linked to was from German Wikipedia. Not all readers of German Wikipedia come to visit Malbork, do they?

Here's another entry from German Wikipedia where they use the name Malbork.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grzegorz_Lato

They don't even other with including the German version of the place's name.

Back to the topic.
One of the nicest castles in Poland is Zamek w Kórniku.
galeriawielkopolska.info/zamekkornik1.html

Rich history and breathtaking woodwork throughout the castle. I recommend a visit.

Nice! Looks abit oriental, doesn't it?

There are various influences, kinda melange of styles. The oriental part is based on India's architectural influence.

I remember most vividly the woodwork. Unfvcking believable. Take a trip one day. Really worth a visit. Kinda similar in the feel of it (not in style or size) Sanssouci to near Berlin

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanssouci .

Zamek Kśiąż near Wałbrzych is one of the biggest castles in Central Europe.
OK, Wałbrzych is a city best forgotten. The castle is impressive though.
As a bonus you get the nearby town on Świdnica with its fair share of monuments.
Nice place :)

zamek-ksiaz.pl

To preciese it:
Malbork (Marienburg) castle was sold to Polish by it's defendants during 13-year war in 1466.
Then it was a Polish fortess and from this times name Malbork originates (I don't say there was no renaming after 45 - there was and many places have today competely created names but not Malbork), then it was again incorporated to Prussia during first partition of Poland in 1772, so we can say it was longer in Polish than in German hands...

Of course it was build by Teutonic Knights. It was also severely demolished during Swedish invasion in 1656 (as most Polish castels) and since then remained deserted till reconstruction in XIXth century. It was also much destroyed in IInd WW an then renovated...

So it is not so easy as it seems.

The Krzyżtopór ( "Cross Axe" ) Mannerist castle in Ujazd is pretty unique. The name derives from the coat of arms of the builder, voivode Ossolinski, displayed on the castle gate. What sets this castle apart is the positively kooky personality of the builder. Ossolinski seems to have been into some strange mystical / astrological ideas: the castle had 365 windows (days in a year), 52 rooms (weeks in a year) and 12 ballrooms (months in a year). To show off his wealth, Ossolinski had crystal mirrors (!) installed in his stables for his animals, and the animals were fed from marble (!) troughs. He also had a glass ceiling mounted above the dining room to enclose a large aquarium, so that tropical fish could entertain the guests as they swam above their heads. I believe it's the second largest castle in Poland after Malbork. Over the years, several proposals have been made to rebuild this strange castle; one proposal suggested that the castle be turned into a retreat for the officers of Polish People's Army. Because of the size of the complex, so far the cost has proved prohibitive (one estimate I've heard was $100M).

As far as Malbork, Frombork, Rastembork, etc. They are simply Polish medieval renditions of Marienburg, Frauenburg and Rastenburg. These names have nothing to do with Communism, nor any post-WW2 attempt at Polonization. That's how these towns were called by Poles at the time of Ducal / Royal Prussia. On the other hand, there are a few towns in the former East Prussia which were deliberately renamed after WW2. Rastembork ( German: Rastenburg ), of Wolfsschanze fame, became Ketrzyn in 1950, named after the Kashubian activist Ketrzynski.

Everyone thinks this is a painting. I had taken this pic of the castle in Lublin with my cell, late in the evening. I love the photo. It looks so surreal.

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  Lublin
  

Wawel Castle in Krakow is the most important in Poland - Polish kings and queens used to reside and are buried there.

your missing a few, here's a few of my favourites:

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No, I have just started a new thread, give me some time, please, I am begging you......


Very nice choice. I will develop these castles.


Niedzica Castle - looks pretty insignificant but is shrouded in a great mystery. Castle workers don`t want to talk about it with tourists in fear of invoking bad luck on them!



In the post-World War II period Polish newspapers wrote at length about Sebastián Berzeviczy[1] (one of Niedzica's owners) who traveled to the New World in the 18th century.[2] According to a popular legend, he fell in love with the alleged Inca princess. Their daughter Umina[3] married the nephew[4] of an Inca insurrection leader Túpac Amaru II, whose assumed name implied descent from Inca kings. Túpac Amaru was eventually executed by the Spaniards after rebelling against the colonial government. The legend goes on to claim that the sacred scrolls of the Incas had been handed down to his surviving family members.

The girlfriend and I explored the ruins of Odrzykon as one of our first dates: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odrzykon

Very picturesque in the autumn mists...

Yes! Ruins of castles will also do in our thread!

Panorama
panoramy.zbooy.pl/360/show.html?max=1&p=odrzykon-zamek-maszt-0369&lang=e&t=32

Zamek Książ is an impressive structure; the third largest castle in Poland.



en.ksiaz.walbrzych.pl - Zamek Książ - Official website

You have some real beauties in Poland. High on my list of places to visit.

This is my favorite, although i liked it better before the renovation:



Also i cant believe that nobody mentioned Malbork, the biggest castle in the world:

@Pawian

Does Palaces count?

David, sorry, they don`t. If you want, start a new thread titled Palaces of Poland. There are many of them.


Bieg and Bern, thank you for bringing Książ Castle up. I have never visited it, must go one day.

You can do that, i'm to lazy ;)

The reason i asked is because Poland and later on The Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth kinda abandoned the idea of building castles to protect important trade routes etc..

Since the PLC govement was kinda decentralized, it was more up to the Polish nobles aka Szlachta to build up the defences in the country. The most common defensive structures became the Palazzo in fortezza (fortified palace)

Krzyztopor



Lancut

What??? You have already initiated 50 threads and you say you`re lazy???? :):):):)


Bern, the thread was only begun yesterday. Give us some time, I am begging you. :):):):)

But your remark is very accurate. Malbork Castle is grand, indeed.

It certainly is, and it's massive. It's like a maze inside, i kept getting lost!
P.S Glad you're back :):)

both Krasiczyn and £ańcut palaces/castles are officially called "zamek" on their websites so I guess they count

Krasiczyn:

£ańcut

Podhorce Zamek



Kamieńcu Podolskim - "bramą do Polski"



Chocim Castle



Noone of these are located in Poland today, but they were built by and for Poles during the PLC era.

Kamieniec Podolski is inverse of for example Malbork- build by somebody else against Poles at Land that is now Polish.

Well, we now show how impressive our enemies were, and travel to see what Polish people (or Commonwealth ) build.