CZORSZTYN CASTLE
Less than 700m from our property are the Ruins of Czorsztyn Castle – these are the ruins of a Gothic castle from the 14th century, located on a hill above the Dunajec River within the Pieniny National Park. Currently, the castle is under the care of the Pieniny National Park. On the castle grounds there is a habitat of one of the Pieniny endemics – the Pieniny bee-orchid.
NIEDZICA CASTLE
12 km from our property, on the right bank of the lake, stands Niedzica Castle, also known as “Dunajec.” It was built on the site of an earth-and-rampart stronghold around 1325. The castle changed hands many times; until 1943 it was owned by the Hungarian Salamon family. Currently, it is managed by the Association of Art Historians. This medieval fortress, located on the right bank of Lake Czorsztyńskie in the village of Niedzica Castle, in the area of Polish Spisz or Zamagurze (Pieniny Spiskie). The castle was most likely built at the beginning of the 14th century by the Hungarian borderland colonizer Rykolf Berzeviczy from Strążki, probably on the site of an earlier defensive structure. In the Middle Ages and later, the castle owners' endowment consisted of lands forming part of Zamagurze.
The name Dunajec Castle (Latin: novum castrum de Dunajecz) first appeared in a 1325 document recorded as the property of the family of Jan and Rykolf, lords of Brzozowica. They were grandsons of the Spiš comes Rüdiger from Tyrol, who founded Niedzica under the grant of King Andrew II of Hungary in 1209. Until 1470, the castle remained in the possession of Rüdiger’s descendants, and then it became property of the Spiš comes Emeric Zapolya. The estate of Niedzica castle extended over the entire Zamagurze.
Initially, the castle served as a Hungarian guard post on the border with Poland. In 1470 it passed into the hands of the Zapolya family, then for 60 years to the Łaski family (Hieronim and later his son Olbracht). Known for his wild lifestyle, Olbracht Łaski first pawned the castle and later sold it to Jerzy Horvath, who carefully rebuilt it, transforming it into a magnificent Renaissance residence (much of which has been preserved to this day). In 1858 the castle was taken over by another Hungarian family – the Salamon family.
After World War I, the castle was located within Polish territory, although it remained the property of the Salamons until 1945. An important fact from this period is the preservation in the castle estates until 1931 (the longest in Europe) of the remnants of serfdom. Since 1948, restoration and partial reconstruction work has been carried out on the castle. In some rooms, a creative work house of the Association of Art Historians was established, and others were opened to the public as a museum of interiors and Spisz regional history. In 1960, a seismological station of the Institute of Geophysics PAS was set up in the tower.
One of the most mysterious chapters in the history of the castle is the discovery, allegedly just after World War II, of the Inca “quipu” – a kind of information record using knotted string writing, which supposedly contains information about a hidden treasure.
The castle was a setting for TV series such as Janosik and Holidays with Ghosts. In the mid-1950s, scenes for the film Revenge, based on Alexander Fredro’s comedy, were shot here; in 1975 the film Mazepa, based on Juliusz Słowacki’s drama, was made at Niedzica Castle. The site is also featured in the adventure book by Aga Paszkot, Auntie, the Demon and Niedzica's Little Castle.
Today, the castle serves museum, hotel, and gastronomic functions, being one of the biggest historical attractions in the southern part of the Małopolskie Voivodeship. The castle is approached by an “alley.” Behind the entrance gate and vestibule is the lower castle courtyard. Within this part of the castle are guest rooms, a café, and in the former ballroom, a restaurant. In the museum section, one can see the so-called Salamon chambers, furnished with items from the 16th-19th centuries. Wooden stairs lead to the viewing terrace. Through the next gate is the entrance to the upper castle and the castle dungeons, which served as cellars and also as a prison (now arranged as the so-called torture chamber). On the edge of the upper castle courtyard is a well carved in solid limestone rock to a depth of over 60 meters. In the so-called Lord’s Rooms in the upper castle, one can see the hunting room, salt chamber, and guard room.
On the opposite side of the Dunajec, above the lake bluff, are the ruins of Czorsztyn Castle.
source: Wikipedia
