The Royal Castle in Chęciny, Poland (part 2)

In 1465 a dangerous fire broke out in the castle, and from the second half of the 16th century, that is, when Queen Bona moved out, Chęciny Castle began to lose its luster and splendor. Another fire took place in the mid-sixteenth century, and the staroste Stanisław Dębiński, in order to restore the use of the castle, made only the most important renovation works. The destruction of the castle was done in the 17th century. In 1607, during the Zebrzydowski Rebellion, the fortress was burnt down and the armory plundered. The castle was plundered again in 1655 by the Swedes and their ally Prince George Rákóczi in 1657. The stronghold ceased to be the residence of starosts and was abandoned in 1707 after its subsequent devastation by the Swedes.

After these events, the castle was abandoned. The castle cannons fired for the last time in 1787 to the cheers of King Stanislaw August Poniatowski entering the city. Since then, the walls of the medieval stronghold have served the local residents as a source of building materials.

During World War I, the ruins were used by the Russian army. Then, as a result of Austrian artillery fire, the towers were seriously damaged. In the interwar period, minor conservation works were not able to stop the destruction of the castle.

During World War II, a threat to the castle was the exploitation of stone from Góra Zamkowa to obtain building material for roads in the General Government. The exploitation was stopped, which saved the castle walls from collapsing. After World War II, the ruins of the castle are reconstructed (inter alia, in the years 1948 -1949 - towers, 1959 - 1960 - walls).

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The Royal Castle in Chęciny, Poland (part 1)

It was erected on the ridge of a rocky hill (367 meters above sea level) probably at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, on the initiative of Wenceslaus II, the king of the Czech Republic and Poland.

The first mention of the castle comes from 1306 and concerns the granting of a stronghold by Łokietek to the bishop of Muskata together with eleven surrounding villages. This privilege was revoked and the castle, together with the emerging town, became the center of princely and then royal power. At the beginning, it covered only the present eastern part - two round towers with a wall in the shape of a polygon similar to a rectangle in the terrain matching the relief.

The castle in Chęciny played an important role: the king often visited the castle and congresses of the knights were held in the years 1310, 1318, 1331, 1333. In 1318 - in fear of the Teutonic Knights - the treasury of the Archdiocese of Gniezno was deposited here. Several years later, in June 1331, in Chęciny, the king’s son was appointed governor of Wielkopolska. Equal laws, courts, and coinage were also introduced as an expression of the unification of the country. It was decided to join the war with the Teutonic Knights, and after the congress, the Polish knights moved to Płowce. This event is regarded as the beginning of Polish parliamentarism.

During the reign of Casimir the Great, the castle became the seat of the city starosts and the residence of royal families. The king extended the castle with a residential building on the north side and a forearm, which was later added to the chapel.

#checiny #swietokrzyskie #baszta #tower #zamek #castle #castello #polska #poland #architektura #architecture #widok #krajobraz #landscape #gothicarchitecture #architekturagotycka #gothic #ruiny #ruins #historia #history