Czchów Castle

The round tower on the hill above the Dunajec has become the symbol of Czchów, although for centuries it was above all a customs post. The royal castle guarded the trade route to Hungary and collected duties on goods shipped along the river, and in the 18th century its tower served as a prison. Today the tower is under renovation, after which it is set to grow by 6 metres and gain a viewing terrace.

History: a customs house on the Dunajec

The first fortification was built here in the second half of the 13th century. It was a stone defensive tower surrounded by timber fortifications, later replaced by a stone wall. The castle controlled the route along the Dunajec valley and housed a customs office for goods arriving from Hungary. It first appears in written records in 1356.

In the 14th and 15th centuries a curtain wall, an entrance gate and a residential building were added around the tower; this was the seat of the local royal governors (starosts). The land court also sat here. From the mid-17th century the castle stood abandoned and decayed, but the tower itself remained in use for another hundred years. In the second half of the 18th century it held a prison, closed after the First Partition of Poland in 1772.

What to see

The main feature is a free-standing cylindrical tower 12.5 m across and about 20 m high, built of sandstone. Its top storey has not survived, so the tower is lower today than it was in the Middle Ages. A wall 1.2 to 2 m thick ran around the hilltop, and on the eastern side stood the gate tower through which visitors entered.

In 2000 the tower opened to visitors, with a viewpoint and an archaeological exhibition inside. In 2018 parts of the castle were rebuilt: the timber walkway, the gate tower, the courtyard and the surviving section of the Gothic house. The ruins also inspired 19th-century artists and appear in a lithograph by Maciej Bogusz Stęczyński and a drawing by Adam Gorczyński.

The tower renovation

At the end of July 2026 the site closed for conservation work. The tower walls are to be raised by 6 metres and topped with a viewing terrace, with new stairs and lighting inside. The project also includes upgrading the path from Skwer Katyński. The budget is PLN 2.7 million; the contract runs until the end of 2027, but the town hopes to reopen for the 2027 season.

Tripto tip

Before you travel, check with the Czchów town office whether the tower has reopened after the works. Even with the tower closed, it is worth walking up from Skwer Katyński to see the castle from outside. The walk from the market square takes a few minutes, and half an hour on the hill is plenty. The Czchów stronghold was part of a chain of castles guarding the Dunajec valley, so it fits neatly into a route along the river's other ruins.