Castles

Royal Castle in Poznań

On Przemysł Hill, just behind Poznań’s Old Market square, stands the oldest surviving royal residence in Poland. The Royal Castle was built in the 13th century as a residential tower for Przemysł I; it was expanded by his son Przemysł II — the first king of Poland after the fragmentation of the realm — and completed in the 14th century by Casimir the Great.

A Teutonic homage and ruin

The stronghold witnessed famous events: in 1493 the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Hans von Tieffen, paid homage here to the king of Poland. The castle suffered in the Northern Wars and fell into ruin; at the end of the 18th century it was only partly rebuilt, and in 1945 it was destroyed again. The next chapters were the reconstruction of 1959–1964 and the full rebuilding with a tall tower carried out in 2010–2013 to a design by Witold Milewski.

Museum and viewing terrace

Today the castle houses the Museum of Applied Arts, a branch of the National Museum in Poznań, and the tower top holds a viewing terrace with a panorama of the city. A visit combines well with a walk around the Old Market, a trip to Ostrów Tumski and the Poznań Collegiate church; the second of Poznań’s castles, the Imperial Castle, stands about 800 metres away.

In practice

Address: Góra Przemysła 1, a 5-minute walk from the Market Square. The museum is closed on Mondays; tickets cost PLN 12 (regular) and PLN 8 (reduced), and on Tuesdays admission is free. Opening hours vary by season — check the museum’s website before your visit.