Castles

Castle in the Kluczwody Valley

On the rocky hill called Zamkowa Skała, or Zamczysko, near Biały Kościół, the remnants of a small knightly castle from the early 14th century have survived. The main element of the stronghold was a curtain wall running along the edge of the hill on a rectangular plan, up to 1.3 m thick. The levels of the complex were connected by stairs cut into the rock, and at the foot of the rock lay a service area protected by an earthen rampart and a moat.

A short-lived stronghold

The castle’s history was one of the shortest in the Jura region: excavations indicate that it was abandoned as early as the second half of the 14th century — most likely because the walls began to slide off the rock on which they were founded. Fragments of the wall are still visible on the summit, while the area below is outlined by the rampart and moat.

The valley and its surroundings

The Kluczwody Valley is about 6 km long; a stream flows through it into the Rudawa, and the whole valley belongs to the Dolinki Krakowskie Landscape Park. In its upper part, near Wierzchowie, lie Wierzchowska Górna Cave, the longest show cave of the Jura, and Mamutowa Cave, popular with climbers. The ruins can be reached via Zamkowa Street in Biały Kościół, not far from the Olkusz–Kraków road; the site is free to visit around the clock, and from the Mączne Skały rocks on the eastern slope you can admire a panorama of the upper reaches of the valley.