Chudów Castle

The ruin at Chudów looks like a romantic relic of war, but much of it is the product of 19th-century fashion: after a fire in 1875 the owner had only part of the walls secured and the rest pulled down to create a "picturesque ruin". Today it is one of the few early Renaissance noble residences in Upper Silesia, with a rebuilt tower housing a museum, a moat and a courtyard full of remains uncovered by archaeologists. The castle lies a dozen or so kilometres from Gliwice, in the rural municipality of Gierałtowice.

History: from wooden tower to Renaissance castle

The first known owner of Chudów, Jan de Hodow, appears in the records in 1434. Excavations showed that in the 15th century a wooden tower about 9 metres square stood on a small island in the marshes, surrounded by a palisade. The stone and brick castle was most likely built on the same spot by Jan Gierałtowski in the first half of the 16th century. The tower came first, followed by the lord's house and a service building, arranged around a rectangular courtyard with arcaded galleries and a well.

In 1837 the declining estate was bought by Alexander von Bally. He installed a chapel in the tower, added an extra storey and remodelled the castle so thoroughly that it lost its Renaissance character. His investments in prospecting for coal, however, bankrupted him, and in 1844 the estate went to auction. On 11 January 1875 the castle burned down, and the then owner, Count Schaffgotsch, secured only the roof and part of the walls.

The museum in the tower

Since 1999 the castle has been cared for by the Chudów Castle Foundation, which carried out excavations and rebuilt the tower by 2004. The exhibition fills every level:

• cellar – archaeology display with reconstructed pottery and parts of a medieval well,
• entrance level – a reconstructed gate-locking mechanism,
• first and second floors – a model of the castle and old photographs,
• third floor – a reconstructed living room and a 16th-century latrine,
• fourth floor – stove tiles found at the castle,
• courtyard and lapidarium – remains of walls, pillars and the well, architectural fragments and a reconstructed Hussite war wagon.

Interesting facts

Jan Gierałtowski was an enterprising landowner: he bought up neighbouring villages, searched for ores and, according to the records, even struck coal – three centuries before the same mineral ruined von Bally. The only known view of the castle before the fire is a lithograph from 1860. About 150 metres from the castle grows Tekla, regarded as the oldest poplar of its variety in Poland and a protected natural monument since 1981; its hollow trunk has been turned into a "Pooh's House". Since 2020 the foundation has been the first Polish member of INTO, the international organisation of National Trusts.

Tripto tip

In the 2026 season the museum is open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, 10:00–18:00; groups can arrange visits on other days by calling +48 32 3301 300. A standard ticket costs PLN 15, a reduced one PLN 10 – check the current season on the foundation's website before you go. Allow about an hour for the tower, the courtyard and a walk round the moat, and if you enjoy crowds and re-enactments, come for the Medieval Fair in August, the oldest event held here, running since 1996. While you are here, take a look at the 18th-century granary and the park of around 7 hectares.