Czocha Castle

For more than forty years Czocha Castle did not appear on any map. From 1952 it housed a military holiday centre, and as a classified military site it was left off official maps until the 1990s — one of the best-known castles in Lower Silesia simply vanished. Today the castle above Lake Leśnia is a hotel, a film location and a destination for night tours, and its secret passages and legends draw more visitors than ever.

History: a border fortress above the Kwisa

The castle was built in 1241–1247 on gneiss rocks above the Kwisa river, on the border between Silesia and Lusatia — on the orders either of the Silesian Piast dukes or of King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia. A document of 1329 calls it castrum Caychow. Because of its strategic position it changed hands often: in 1253 it was taken by the Margraviate of Brandenburg, later it belonged to the dukes of Jawor and Świdnica, and then to the Bohemian crown. Its oldest part is the keep by the gates, later enclosed by residential buildings.

From 1451 to 1700 the castle was owned by the Lusatian von Nostitz family. In the early 15th century the Hussites besieged it without success, and in 1427, while the owners were away, it was seized by a band led by one Czirnin — the castle was soon retaken. In 1793 it was gutted by fire, and in 1847 the writer Józef Lompa described it as "a desolate castle".

Cigars and a rebuild

The turning point came in 1909, when the Dresden cigar manufacturer Ernst Gütschow bought the ruins for 1.5 million marks. In 1912–1920 the Berlin architect Bodo Ebhardt rebuilt the castle based on an engraving from 1703 — unfortunately destroying many of the oldest parts in the process. A small zoo was set up in the former moat. Gütschow had close ties with the Russian imperial court and after the revolution bought works of art from Russian émigrés. He lived at the castle until March 1945.

It is often said that a German military intelligence (Abwehr) school for cipher clerks operated here during the war, but there is no evidence for it. After 1945 the castle was looted repeatedly, and for a time refugees from the Greek Civil War lived here, keeping livestock in the Knights' Hall. It has been open to the public since September 1996.

What to see

• The keep and gates — two gates, the older lower one and the newer upper one; above the portal of the first gate is a cartouche with the von Nostitz coat of arms.
• The courtyards and tower, open on guided tours from June to September.
• The castle interiors with narrow corridors and hidden passages on the "Secret Passages" route.
• The stone bridge over the former moat — the best spot to photograph the tower.

Did you know?

• The castle has appeared in the 1963 Polish comedy "Where Is the General?", in the film and TV series "The Hexer" (based on Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher stories) and in the Polish-Australian series "Spellbinder" (Dwa światy).
• Since 2014 it has hosted College of Wizardry, a live-action role-playing game set in a school of magic that attracts players from all over the world.
• In 2012 Czocha was voted one of the "New Seven Wonders of Poland" in a National Geographic poll.

Tripto tip

The castle is in the village of Sucha (Leśna municipality) on Lake Leśnia. Guided tours run daily from 10:00 to 19:15, until 20:00 in July and August and until 17:15 from November to April. Besides the daytime tour there are multimedia torture chambers, night tours and a themed secret-passages route; tickets are sold online on the castle website. Allow 1.5–2 hours for a visit, and if you want to experience the atmosphere after the day visitors leave, stay overnight in one of the themed hotel rooms. At weekends and in the summer holidays, buy tickets in advance.

Tickets, opening hours and getting there 2026

• Daytime guided tour (as of October 2026): PLN 50, reduced PLN 40 (children and teens up to 15, visitors with disabilities, war veterans); the tour takes about 70 minutes.
• Family tickets: 2 adults + 2 children PLN 208, 2 + 3 PLN 259, covering the guided castle tour and the torture chambers.
• Other tickets: multimedia torture chambers PLN 16 / 12, courtyards only without a guide PLN 8 / 6 (courtyards are included in the guided tour). A separate price list applies during themed events.
• Night tour: PLN 70, almost three hours. Remaining 2026 dates: October 23 and 24 at 10 pm, and November 10, 13, 14 and 20 and December 4, 5, 12, 19, 25, 26 and 29 at 9 pm.
• Secret Passages route: PLN 60, next date November 13, 2026, at 6 pm.
• Last entry: around 6 pm, 6:45 pm in July and August, 5 pm from November to April. The castle stays open daily in winter.
• Parking: signposted "PARKING ZAMKU CZOCHA", PLN 10 per car, PLN 20 per coach.
• By car: about 2 hours from Wrocław via the A4 motorway and regional road 364, just under 4 hours from Katowice, about 5.5 hours from Warsaw (S8 and A4).
• By bus: line 12 (Lubań – Złotniki Lubańskie – Świeradów-Zdrój) stops at the castle, with several runs a day in each direction.
• Dogs: not allowed in the castle interiors; in the courtyards dogs must wear a muzzle (small dogs up to about 30 cm are exempt), except during outdoor events.