Gola Dzierżoniowska Castle

The Gola Castle (German: Schloss Guhlau) erected in the second half of the 16th century is situated in the village of Gola Dzierżoniowska, in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It is located 4 km north-west of Niemcza, 18 km east of Dzierżoniów, and 47 km south of the regional capital Wrocław.

According to inscription above its main entrance, the Gola Castle was erected by Leonard von Rohnau beginning February 1580. The whole structure was built with granite rock. The original Renaissance-style edifice was enlarged in the years 1600–1610. It went through transformations at the beginning of the 18th century and was finally restored at the turn of the 20th century.

The Castle was partially destroyed in the 1945 bombardment and the last owners, the family von Prittwitz und Gaffron, were expelled after World War II. Thereafter, the Castle gradually fell into ruins.

The wonderful Park surrounding the property also became dilapidated. However, both the Castle and Park are now under strict protection. Gola Castle is of special interest because it is one of the oldest and largest castles built in the Renaissance style in this region.

The Renaissance Castle in Gola has been erected on a stone escarpment in 1580 by Leonard von Rohnau – this is confirmed by the German-language inscription over the main entrance: "IN GOTTES NAMEN. DEN 23. FEBRVAR ANNO 15 IM ACHZIGSTEN IAR LEONARD VON ROHNAV DES BAUES ANFANG MACHT VND DIES IAR VNDERS DACH VORBARCHT: GOTT SEI DANK" ("In the name of God Amen. On the 29th February 1580 Leonard von Rohnau started the construction and thanks to God covered it with a roof") Most probably the Renaissance castle was built on the site of a more ancient middle age construction. The middle age castle had a defensive character, as shown by the steep escarpment on the western side, the wet moat from the east, and the double stone walls surrounding the edifice.

The Renaissance Castle has been built as a quadrilateral building with an interior courtyard. A 300-year-old linden still grows in the middle of the courtyard. At the beginning of the 17th century, the tower has been added to the initial construction on the eastern corner. From these days, the shape of the building remains untouched. The caste has a reconstructed portal and walls with sgraffito decoration.

Gola Park is below the level of the Castle.

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

Gola Dzierżoniowska Castle ranks #2,460 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #84 of the 366 mapped in Poland. Founded 1580, it is older than 36% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 718 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. 9 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Świdnica, 24 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 ↗