Piast Castle in Jawor

Few castles in Poland served as a prison for so long: the Piast residence in Jawor fulfilled that role for more than two hundred years, from the time of Frederick the Great until 1956. Beneath its uniform 19th-century façade, however, hide the Gothic High House of the dukes of Jawor, a Renaissance bastion and a Baroque clock tower. It is a stop for people who like to read history from walls rather than display cases.

History: a ducal capital

The fortress began as a 13th-century wooden tower on a stone foundation measuring 6.3 × 7.6 m, surrounded by a rampart and a moat; later it was replaced by a brick tower. After 1274, when the Duchy of Jawor was created, the castle became a ducal residence, and the rampart was replaced by a wall a full 2.25 m thick. In 1278–1287 it was the main seat of Bolko I the Strict, and then of his successors of the Jawor-Świdnica line until the death of Bolko II the Small in 1368. From that period dates the Gothic High House, 29 × 9 m, which survives within the walls of today's castle.

After 1392 the castle was the seat of governors for the kings of Bohemia, and in 1393 it hosted the first assembly of the new province. King Vladislaus Jagiellon stayed here in 1490, and on 28 July 1687 so did Queen Marie Casimire Sobieska on her way to take the cure in Cieplice.

Wars, fires and the prison

In 1510–1538 a two-storey artillery bastion was built in a corner of the castle. In 1527 peasants from Piotrowice attacked the castle, demanding the release of an imprisoned pastor. After a fire in 1552 the castle was rebuilt in Renaissance style; during the Thirty Years' War it was occupied by the Swedes, and in 1648 imperial troops took it by a ruse. Rebuilding in 1663–1665 added, among other things, the square tower in the courtyard.

In 1746, on the orders of Frederick the Great, a mental asylum was set up here, followed by a prison. In 1751 the wings and the tower were raised, destroying most of the old architectural detail. In 1869 the castle held 692 prisoners, and from 1888 it was a women's prison. At the end of 1944 the Germans held about 1,500 women here in appalling conditions, including members of the French, Belgian and Norwegian resistance. From 1945 to 1956 it served as a political prison.

What to see

• The clock tower of 1665, raised with an octagonal top in 1751.
• The Mannerist portal of 1656 with a mascaron and carved graffiti showing a starost's coat of arms and the date 1673.
• The bastion from the early 16th century, now built over.
• Latrine towers and a 19th-century gate with battlements, a lion's head and cast-iron eagles.
• A memorial in the courtyard commemorating the women imprisoned here by the Germans in 1943–1945.

Tripto tips

The castle is not a museum: after 1956 council tenants moved in, and today it houses various institutions and craft workshops. You can see the courtyard and façades in 30–45 minutes; for access to the interiors, ask at the town hall or the Piast Castle in Jawor association. A renovation of the castle was announced in 2026, so parts of it may be closed. Combine the visit with the UNESCO-listed Church of Peace in Jawor, a few minutes' walk away.