Castles

Baranów Sandomierski Castle

This late-Renaissance magnate residence, built between 1591 and 1606 to a design by Santi Gucci for Rafał Leszczyński, is one of the most treasured monuments of the Podkarpacie region. For its resemblance to the royal castle it earned the nickname “the Little Wawel”, and for the elegance of its form the title of Pearl of the Renaissance. The 19th-century scholar Sławomir Odrzywolski wrote that the castle “may boldly stand beside the castle on Wawel Hill”.

A palace that defended itself like a fortress

The castle was built as a palazzo in fortezza: a rectangular, three-storey main body with round bastions in the corners, crowned with an attic. At its heart lies a courtyard framed by two-storey arcaded cloisters with cross vaults — designed, according to Gerard Ciołek's research, on the golden ratio. Surviving interior features include the fan staircase, the Tylman Gallery by Tylman van Gameren and sculptures by Giovanni Battista Falconi.

From fires to restoration

A fire in 1849 ravaged the residence, and another in 1898 was followed by a rebuilding directed by Tadeusz Stryjeński — producing stained glass by Józef Mehoffer and an altarpiece painting by Jacek Malczewski. After 1945 the castle served as a warehouse, until a restoration was carried out in 1959–1968 under Prof. Alfred Majewski.

Practical notes

Open to visitors are the cellars, home to the largest dugout canoe in Europe hewn from a single tree trunk, and a knights' armoury. Around the castle stretches a 14-hectare park with English, French and Italian gardens. The interiors served as a film set for “Barbara Radziwiłłówna”, “Klejnot wolnego sumienia” and the TV series “Czarne chmury”.