Castle Bolczów

The Bolcz Castle (German: Bolzenschloss, later Bolkoschloß, Bolzenstein) is a castle with fragments of natural rock walls in Poland, located about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Jelenia Góra, in the northern part of the Rudawy Janowickie, on a rocky, granite protrusion, about 561 metres (1,841 ft) above sea level.

The establishment of the castle in 1375 is attributed to a courtier of Duke Bolko II from the Bolcz family. The builder of the castle, Clericus Bolze, supported the Hussite movement and the castle became a nest of raubriters. In the first half of the 15th century it was destroyed during a battle between the townsfolk of Wrocław and Świdnica and the Hussites. The castle was rebuilt by Hans Dippold von Burghaus in 1517–1518. A courtyard was created at that time, with a defensive tower in the southern corner and a number of embrasures in the walls. The castle changed owners one by one - in 1537-1543 it belonged to Justus Decius of Kraków, a courtier and secretary to the Polish king Sigismund the Old.

In the years 1520-1550 the castle was expanded again; a stone wall was erected in front of the gate tower, a bastion was built, and a dry moat was constructed. The walls were also adapted to artillery weapons.

Work continued until 1550. In 1562 the castle, together with Janowice and Miedzianka, became the property of the brothers Hans and Franz Heilmann. Probably at the beginning of the 17th century Daniel Schaffgotsch, the owner of Janowice at that time, ordered further improvements to the castle. Further reconstructions took place as a result of the Thirty Years' War. In 1645 the castle was occupied by the Swedes who, upon leaving in December of that year, set fire to the residential buildings. Since then the castle has remained in disrepair. An interest in tourism in the mid-19th century (in 1824 Frederick William III visited the castle) resulted in its reconstruction in 1848 on the initiative of Count Stolberg-Wernigerode.

The castle housed a small Swiss-style inn, built on its old foundations. After World War II, the inn housed a tourist hostel, which fell into disrepair over time. The castle is administered by the Śnieżka Forest Inspectorate. It is a part of the Cultural Park of Jelenia Góra Valley established in 2008.

Two granite rocks were used to build the castle, which were connected by stone walls to create a small courtyard.

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

Castle Bolczów ranks #1,797 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #62 of the 366 mapped in Poland. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,262 times in the last 60 days, more than 69% of the atlas. 13 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Jelenia Góra, 13 km away. It is one of the 70 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Lower Silesia. See how Poland compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗