Fortifications

Łutowiec Watchtower

On the top of Zamkowa rock, north of the buildings of Łutowiec in the commune of Niegowa, faint remains of a medieval watchtower have survived. Of the masonry stronghold a section of wall 0.6 metres thick and 4.5 metres long remains, embedded in the limestone outcrop. Archaeological research by Czesław Hadamik showed that the complex had two parts: one stood on the rock, and to the south adjoined a lower courtyard surrounded by a perimeter wall.

The mystery of the founder

No written documents about the watchtower have survived, so its history is reconstructed from hypotheses. According to Bohdan Guerquin it complemented the system of the Eagles' Nests — medieval strongholds guarding the western border of the Polish Kingdom in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, raised in the reign of Casimir the Great. Another supposition says it served as a prison. A fire ended the existence of the object, whose date and circumstances are unknown.

Rocks and fantasy

At the foot of the rock, auxiliary rooms protected by a rampart and moat served the stronghold. Today Łutowiec lives on tourism: the blue Trail of the Jura Strongholds runs through the village, and nearby outcrops — Zamkowa, Knur, Sfinks or Słoń — are worked by climbers. Interestingly, the village also has a second life in the world of fantasy: in 2013 it hosted Orkon, one of the largest live-action game conventions in Poland.