Bobolice Castle

The Bobolice Castle is a 14th-century royal castle in the village of Bobolice, in the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. The complex is located within a semi-mountainous highland region called the Polish Jura. Having been reduced to a ruin by the end of the 20th century, a reconstruction was started in 2004.

The castle in Bobolice was built by King Casimir III the Great in the middle of the 14th century, probably in place of an earlier wooden structure. The castle was a part of the defence system of royal strongholds protecting the western border of Poland on the side of Silesia. In 1370, immediately after becoming King of Poland, Louis I the Great granted the castle to Władysław Opolczyk, Duke of Opole, as a prize for his support of the king’s dynastic plans. Nine years later Opolczyk leased the castle to Andrzej Schoen, a Hungarian from Barbalas; the new owner manned it with Germans and Czechs, who robbed local inhabitants and conspired with the Teutonic Order.

Dissatisfied with their behaviour, the Polish king Władysław Jagiełło invaded Bobolice in 1396 and took over the castle with adjacent estates. From that time on, the stronghold was owned by a number of families, including Dołęga (Dołęga coat of arms), Szafrańcowie, Trestkowie, Krezowie (Ostoja coat of arms; owners from 1486) and later Chodakowscy, Męcińscy and Myszkowscy (Jastrzębiec coat of arms; owners of the neighbouring Mirów Castle). At Bobolice castle, the gentle crest Dołęga (Dołęga coat of arms), is placed above the gate stronghold.

According to 15th century chronicles, a representative of the Krezowie family captured and imprisoned his niece in the Bobolice Castle. She is still said to haunt the stronghold as a lady in white. There is also a local legend about two twin brothers, owners of castles in Mirów and Bobolice. The legend tells of a treasure hidden in a tunnel between their strongholds, with a witch on guard to deter any potential thieves. One brother brought a beautiful girl home from his war expedition. Suspecting that his twin brother may have fallen in love with the girl, he locked her in the cellar near the treasure. One day, during the absence of the witch, who was attending a witches’ sabbath at the Bald Mount, he caught the pair of lovers in the vault. Enraged, he killed his brother and entombed the girl in the castle dungeons.

Text adapted from “Bobolice Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Bobolice Castle ranks #653 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #15 of the 366 mapped in Poland. Founded c. 1350, it is older than 57% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 582 atlas entries founded in the 14th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 13,680 times in the last 60 days, more than 95% of the atlas. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Częstochowa, 34 km away. See how Poland compares in the castle statistics.

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