Royal Castle, Poznań

The Royal Castle in Poznań (Polish: Zamek Królewski w Poznaniu) dates from 1249 and the reign of Przemysł I. Located in the Polish city of Poznań, it was largely destroyed during the Second World War but has since been partly rebuilt.

Construction of the castle was probably started by Przemysł I in 1249 on hill later called Góra Zamkowa (Castle Mountain, Latin mons castrenis), and now better known as Góra Przemysława (Hill of Przemysł (or Przemysław)). The first building was a habitable tower made of bricks with a well inside, and the rest of the hill was surrounded by a rampart with a palisade. A small ducal residence was incorporated into the system of city walls in the late 13th century.

The son of Przemysł I, Przemysł II, hoping for reunification of Poland under his rule decided to build a larger castle, more proper for a king. In 1295 Przemysł became king of Poland, but he was assassinated a year later. The castle was not finished. Work started by Przemysł was continued by a branch of the Piasts from Głogów ruling in Greater Poland, and finished before 1337. The castle served as the residence of Prince Casimir, then-governor of Greater Poland.

In 1337, the Royal Castle in Poznań was the largest castle in the Polish Kingdom, modelled after the palace of Henry I the Bearded in Legnica. The castle consisted of a tower built by Przemysł I and a huge building (63,0 m x 17,5 m) with three levels and a basement. It is uncertain whether the castle's characteristic roof, consisting of four parts, existed at that time.

Basements served as prisons and for storage of wines, and on the ground floor there were charring rooms. Those two floors were covered by vaults. Two higher floors probably had wooden ceilings. On the edges of first floor were representative chambers, and between them were habitual rooms. The whole second floor was occupied by a chamber for 2000 guests. On the south end of the large building was a defense tower. Since the reign of Władysław I the Elbow-high the castle served as the residence of starosta generalny of Greater Poland. Later only one king, Władysław II Jagiełło, ordered some minor work in castle.

During the fire of Poznań in 1536 the castle also burned. It was rebuilt in the Renaissance style by the governor of Greater Poland, Andrzej II Górka. In the next years the oldest part of castle was transformed into a kitchen.

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

Royal Castle, Poznań ranks #1,312 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #37 of the 366 mapped in Poland. Founded 1249, it is older than 73% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 825 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,508 times in the last 60 days, more than 83% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Poznań, 1 km away. See how Poland compares in the castle statistics.

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