Wok's Tower, Prudnik

On Castle Square in Prudnik stands a thick, round stone tower that is older than the town itself. This is Wok's Tower — the only remnant of the medieval castle of Wogendrossel, regarded as the oldest castle tower in Upper Silesia and the oldest private fortification in Poland. Its walls are 4–5 metres thick at the base, and the entrance was placed high above the ground.

History: Wok's rose

The castle was founded in the mid-13th century by the Bohemian nobleman Wok of Rosenberg (Rožmberk), who led settlement on the border between the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Duchy of Opole. The stronghold in a bend of the Prudnik river guarded the trade route from Nysa to Opava. The Rosenberg coat of arms was a rose, hence the German name Wogendrossel — "Wok's Rose". The tower is linked to the time of Henry of Rosenberg, who ran the castle from 1262.

From 1337 the castle belonged to the Piast dukes, and it grew in importance under Duke Bolko V the Hussite, who ruled the Duchy of Głogówek-Prudnik in the 15th century. In March 1428 Prudnik was captured by the Hussites. After the Opole Piasts died out, the castle passed to the town council, which bought it outright in 1597. In 1806 a fire started by a weaver's journeyman destroyed the complex, and in 1844–1847 everything except the tower was demolished.

What to see

• The cylindrical tower, about 12.5 metres across, built of greywacke from the nearby Opava Mountains and topped with an octagonal section with a wooden gallery and roof.
• The high entrance in a stone frame — typical of a keep of last resort, where defenders could hold out during a siege.
• The hunger dungeon, 2 metres wide and 13 metres high; the only way in was an opening in the vault above.
• The viewing gallery in the wooden hoarding at the top, created during the 2009 restoration.

Did you know?

The name "Wok's Tower" is recent: it was popularised only in the late 1990s by the journalist Antoni Weigt. Before that, Germans called it the "Heathen Tower" because locals believed it had stood "since time immemorial", and after the war Poles called it the castle tower or Piast tower. Its sister building is thought to be the Jakobínka tower at Rožmberk Castle on the Vltava in southern Bohemia — also round, with its entrance halfway up.

Tripto tip

The tower stands on the grounds of the Brothers Hospitallers' monastery and is cared for by the Prudnik Land Museum. After restoration it was open to visitors from 2010, but in April 2023 it was closed because of the poor condition of the wooden staircase — before you travel, call the museum (+48 77 406 80 60) to check whether the climb to the top is possible again. Even when the tower is closed, its walls and Castle Square are worth a close look; allow 15–20 minutes. It combines easily with a stroll around Prudnik's market square and a trip into the Opava Mountains.