Castle Hill in Cieszyn

Castle Hill (Góra Zamkowa) is where Cieszyn began. On a steep rise above the Olza River, right on the Czech border, stand the Romanesque Rotunda of St Nicholas and St Wenceslas – the oldest masonry building in Silesia and the image on the 20-złoty banknote – and the Gothic Piast Tower with its viewing terrace. Around them spreads a 19th-century landscape park with the Habsburg palace.

History: stronghold, castle, palace

The earliest traces of settlement on the hill go back to Roman times. A permanent stronghold arose here in the 10th century, in the 12th century it became the seat of a castellany, and around 1290 the capital of the independent Duchy of Cieszyn, which lasted until 1918. The Piasts ruled it until 1653. In the 14th century the castle took on a Gothic stone form, divided into the Upper Castle with the ducal chambers and the Lower Castle with service buildings, an armoury and dungeons. The Thirty Years' War and the extinction of the Cieszyn Piasts sealed the residence's decline.

In 1839 the Habsburgs demolished most of the ruins, and the hill was remodelled in Neoclassical style to designs by the Viennese architect Joseph Kornhäusel. A summer hunting lodge rose on parts of the Lower Castle, and the rest became an English landscape park. Since 1947 part of the palace has housed a music school, and since 2005 the palace and the reconstructed orangery have been home to the Zamek Cieszyn design centre.

What to see

• Rotunda of St Nicholas and St Wenceslas from the 12th century – first a stronghold church, later the castle chapel. Its Romanesque appearance was restored in 1947–1955.
• Piast Tower from the first half of the 14th century, once the castle's keep of last defence. It is almost 29 m high; 120 steps lead to a terrace with views of Cieszyn, Český Těšín and the Silesian Beskids. The corner shields with the Piast eagle are attributed to the Prague workshop of Peter Parler.
• Tower of Last Defence from the 12th century – foundations uncovered in the early 21st century.
• The park, with trees protected as natural monuments, street furniture by Polish and international designers, and the Lane of Cieszyn Women.

Did you know?

The rotunda's dedication is still debated. In older documents and 18th-century castle registers the chapel appears only under St Wenceslas. After the 1919–1920 conflict over Cieszyn Silesia the Czech patron was gradually dropped, even though in 1436 Cardinal Zbigniew Oleśnicki named St Wenceslas one of the principal patrons of the Kingdom of Poland.

Tripto tips

Entry to the hill and park is free. The Piast Tower and the rotunda open daily: in January, February, November and December 10:00–16:00, in March, April and October 10:00–17:00, in May and September 10:00–18:00, and from June to August 10:00–19:00. A standard ticket costs PLN 14, reduced PLN 10, family PLN 40; the rotunda alone PLN 10. The tourist information point is at Zamkowa 1. Allow 1.5 hours for the hill, tower and park, then walk across the bridge over the Olza to Český Těšín.