Poland · 15th century
Dzików Castle or Tarnowski Family Castle in Dzików (Polish: Zamek Tarnowskich w Dzikowie) is a 15th-century (or perhaps a 14th-century) castle located in Tarnobrzeg, Poland. It is set in a park complex with gardens.
The building of the castle was started in the 15th century as a fortified residence. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was acquired by the Tarnowski family and reconstructed. The castle was a site of the Dzików Confederation of 5 November 1734, led by Adam Tarło, starosta from Jasło, organized in order to reinstate Stanisław Leszczyński as the king of Poland after the death of August II the Strong. However, Leszczyński resigned his command over the confederation, not believing in its success against the superior Saxon and Russian armies. He limited himself only to calls for support from France, Sweden, Turkey and Prussia, but ultimately did not receive any.
As a result, Leszczyński consented to abdicate on 26 January 1736; and, as a token of gratitude, received the perpetual right to use the royal title. The Dzików Confederation ended in failure. In 1830, the castle was reconstructed in the Gothic Revival style by Franciszek Maria Lanci.
Over the years, the Tarnowski family acquired an impressive art collection housed in the castle. In the 19th century, there were 250 paintings there, among others of Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt, Jacek Malczewski, and Jan Matejko. Apart from the paintings there were also valuable prints there including the oldest copy of the Polish Chronicle by Gallus Anonymus, manuscript Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz, the first Bogurodzica copy, the original Chronicles by Wincenty Kadłubek and the Wiślica Statutes. The Polish Rider by Rembrandt, also known as Lisowczyk, one of the most valuable paintings in Poland, was found in Dzikovia Tarnowski collections.
In 1910, it was sold by Zdzisław Tarnowski to Henry Frick and taken away to New York, in spite of the public protests. It is currently displayed in the Frick Collection. During the war, priceless treasures of the national and European culture were left carefully hidden in Dzików, as well as deposited in the National Museum in Warsaw and Ossolineum in Lwów. Later all sorts of state institutions seized them, e.g. they are in a Łańcut Castle, close to 500 exhibit items around Dzikowia, and in the Rzeszów Museum there are over 80.
Text adapted from “Dzików Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Dzików Castle ranks #4,051 of 9,035 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #151 of the 397 mapped in Poland. Founded c. 1450, it is older than 46% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 556 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,114 times in the last 60 days, more than 53% of the atlas. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how Poland compares in the castle statistics.
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