Fortifications

Watchtower in Suliszowice

Between the castles of Bobolice and Olsztyn, on the top of a solitary rock around 400 m above sea level, a defensive watchtower was erected in 1370–1391, whose remains lie near the village of Suliszowice in the commune of Żarki. The builder was probably King Casimir the Great or Duke Władysław Opolczyk. The first mention of the object comes only from 1581, and by then it was probably already abandoned.

The wall that survived

The watchtower consisted of two parts: an upper one set on a 15–20-metre rock and a lower one surrounded by a rampart and moat. A section of wall made of broken limestone 19.5 metres long and up to 1.8 metres thick has survived to this day, along with relics of buildings at the foot of the outcrop. This is considerably more than the legendary status of a vanished stronghold suggests, although the remains can mainly be viewed from behind a fence — in the 1970s a summer house was built on the inner ward.

How to visit

The watchtower lies about 1 km from road 793 between Żarki and Złoty Potok, on the blue Trail of the Jura Strongholds. It is worth combining it into one loop with the rocks around Suliszowice and the barns of Żarki, then heading on to the Parkowe reserve in Złoty Potok. The outcrop looks best in morning light, when the limestone wall reveals the arrangement of broken stones.