Bobolice Castle

As recently as the 1990s, all that remained of Bobolice Castle was a ruin on a limestone crag. Today King Casimir the Great's fortress once again has a roof, a tower and battlements, the result of a ten-year private reconstruction that opened in September 2011. Bobolice is one of the most controversial and at the same time most photographed sites on the Trail of the Eagles' Nests, a chain of castles across the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland.

History: a royal watchtower passed from family to family

According to the medieval chroniclers Jan of Czarnków and Jan Długosz, the castle was built by King Casimir III the Great; based on the course of his reign, it went up in 1350–1352. Standing on a hill 360 m above sea level, it was one link in a chain of castles guarding the kingdom's border with Silesia. In 1370 Louis of Hungary granted it as a fief to Duke Władysław of Opole, and afterwards the castle passed through a string of noble families: the Szafraniec, Treska, Kreza, Fogelweder, Chodakowski and Męciński. Around 1560 the Kreza family turned the medieval stronghold into a residence, and in the 17th century the Fogelweders, a family originally from St Gallen in Switzerland, built the main tower on the site of the old keep. In December 1587 the castle was seized by the troops of Archduke Maximilian Habsburg, a claimant to the Polish throne, and recaptured in January 1588 by Grand Hetman Jan Zamoyski.

From peasant lease to reconstruction

In 1867 the castle was leased in perpetuity to local peasants, the Baryła family, and the walls gradually fell into ruin. The ruins were entered in the register of historic monuments in 1961. In 1996 they were bought by the brothers Jarosław and Dariusz Lasecki, and reconstruction began in 2001, preceded by three years of archaeological research that turned up pottery, stove tiles, glass and coins. The mortar was mixed with washed river sand and slaked lime that had been left to mature in pits for 30 years. The castle opened on 3 September 2011. Some art historians and conservators criticised the project, so bear in mind that the building you see today is a modern recreation rather than a surviving monument.

What to see

• The irregular circuit of walls built into the limestone outcrops — the builders used the rock itself as part of the fortifications.
• The horseshoe-shaped 16th-century bastion on the east side, which guarded the entrance gate.
• The 17th-century main tower rising above the body of the castle.
• Brama Laseckich (the Lasecki Gate), a natural rock arch at the foot of the castle uncovered during clearance work in June 2010.

Legends and curiosities

The best-known legend tells of the twin brothers Bobol and Mir, lords of Bobolice and nearby Mirów, who kept their war booty in a tunnel linking the two castles. When Mir fell in love with his brother's wife, Bobol caught the lovers in the tunnel, killed Mir and walled the woman up alive; since then a White Lady is said to haunt the walls. Another tale places a treasure in the same tunnel, guarded by a witch and a black dog. The castle appears in Andrzej Wajda's 2016 film "Afterimage", and in 2017 scenes for the Polish TV series "Korona królów" (The Crown of Kings) were shot here.

Tripto tip

The castle is privately owned and houses a hotel and restaurant, so check the current rules and times for visiting the interior directly with the castle before you travel — we could not confirm an official price list. The walls and rocks are best seen from outside by walking around the hill; in the early morning and late afternoon the white limestone looks its best in photos. Be sure to combine your visit with the ruins of Mirów Castle on the other side of the rocky ridge — together they form the most recognisable pair of fortresses in the Polish Jura. Climbers use the rocks in the area, so stick to the marked paths.