Cisy Castle

Cisy Castle is a ruined mediaeval hillside castle near the village of Cieszów, in Gmina Stare Bogaczowice (a municipality), Wałbrzych County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland.

Sources disagree with each other (and sometimes within themselves) over historical details, and are not easy to reconcile. There seems to have been some sort of stronghold on the site from the 10th or 11th century. The date of construction of Cisy Castle is uncertain. So too is its date of first historical mention; for which sources variously say 1240, 1243, 1264, and 1327.

According to some accounts, construction was begun under Bolko I the Strict (1252/56 - 1301) of the house of Piast, and was completed under his grandson Bolko II the Small (c. 1312 – 1368). According to another account, in 1355 Bolko II captured the castle from robber knights. According to a yet another account, the castle was built by Bolko I at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, it was captured by robber knights, and it was subsequently recaptured by Bolko II. Its purpose was similar to those of the castles at Rogowiec, Grodno, Radosno, Nowy Dwór and Stary Książ: to guard the western borders of the Piast dukedoms of Świdnica and Jawor. The castle achieved its greatest fame during the late 14th century, when Nikel Bolcze, castellan of Strzegom, lived there, and was often visited by Agnes (1322-1392), widow of Bolko II, who had inherited the castle from him.

The castle next passed into Bohemian ownership. As already mentioned, sources are conflicting. (1) According to one account, ownership of the castle passed by prior agreement after the deaths of Nikel and of Agnes to new but unidentified owners, who enlarged it. In 1428, the castle was occupied by the Hussites during their unsuccessful struggle for religious freedom (1419-1434). It was subsequently occupied by robber knights. In 1484, they were expelled and the castle was destroyed. In the 16th century, ownership passed to the wealthy Czettritz family. During the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), the castle was burnt by Swedish troops during their intervention in that conflict. (2) According to another account, ownership passed by unspecified means. The castle was successively occupied by various families; namely, Zeispercek, A. von Grunau and Czettritz, and was further enlarged.

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

Cisy Castle ranks #4,235 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #159 of the 374 mapped in Poland. Founded c. 1300, it is older than 63% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 860 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. 15 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Wałbrzych, 11 km away. It is one of the 72 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 ↗