Lipowiec Castle

For more than two centuries the bishops of Kraków imprisoned clergy here: heretics, rebellious friars and priests accused of crimes. Lipowiec Castle stands on a wooded limestone hill (362 m above sea level) between Babice and Wygiełzów, and its round tower, roughly 30 metres high, looks out over the Vistula valley and the country around Chrzanów. An open-air museum lies at the foot of the hill, so the castle and the wooden village make a single outing.

History: the bishops' fortress

The hill overlooked the route from Kraków to Silesia, so a stronghold stood here as early as the 13th century. Bishop Jan Prandota bought the land from the Benedictine nuns of Staniątki, and it belonged to the bishopric of Kraków until 1789. Bishop Jan Muskata used the castle as a base in his feud with King Władysław the Short and took refuge here between 1306 and 1312. The castle got its present shape in the 15th century under bishops Wojciech Jastrzębiec and Zbigniew Oleśnicki, whose coats of arms can still be seen in the courtyard walls. In 1444 Oleśnicki issued a charter here for the newly acquired Duchy of Siewierz.

A prison for priests

Some rooms were already turned into cells in the 15th century, and during the Reformation in the 16th century Lipowiec's role as a prison grew considerably. Its most famous inmate was Francesco Stancaro (Franciszek Stankar), an Italian lecturer at the Kraków Academy, locked up in 1550 for spreading anti-Trinitarian ideas. With help from friends, including the humanist Andrzej Trzecieski, he escaped, and two years later published a work on church reform he had begun in his cell. Legend adds that the jailer's daughter, who had fallen in love with him, smuggled in the ropes. Condemned prisoners were lowered into the dungeon at the base of the tower through a hole in the floor.

Decline and ruin

A fire in 1629 and the Swedes, who seized the castle on 9 October 1655 and burned it as they withdrew in summer 1657, began its decline. Before that, on 17 August 1683, King John III Sobieski rested here on his way to the Battle of Vienna, an event marked by a plaque in the gate passage. In the 18th century Bishop Konstanty Felicjan Szaniawski rebuilt the castle as a house of correction for clergy. After a fire in 1800 it was gradually abandoned, and it was secured as a stable ruin in 1961–1969.

What to see

• the round tower from the 13th–14th century, the oldest part, with narrow stone stairs and a viewing terrace at the top,
• the upper castle, a pentagon around a small courtyard, with bishops' coats of arms in the walls,
• the well, over 24 m deep, dating from the castle's earliest period,
• an exhibition in the former living quarters on the first floor, covering the castle's history and archaeological finds.

Tripto tip

The castle belongs to the museum in Wygiełzów, which also runs the Vistula Ethnographic Park (an open-air museum of rural buildings) at the foot of the hill; seeing both takes 2.5–3 hours. A renovation worth almost PLN 35 million (new roofing, services, the bridge and an educational trail between the walls) is planned until 2028, so the castle may close temporarily during the works. Check the museum's and Babice municipality's announcements before you go. The tower stairs are steep and winding, and the path up the hill runs through the Lipowiec nature reserve, so wear comfortable shoes.