Castles

Krapkowice Castle

At the mouth of the Osobłoga river, where it joins the Oder, and behind a high stone wall stands Krapkowice Castle — a powerful residence laid out on a quadrilateral plan, with the only entrance to the courtyard through a tunnel-like gate on Zamkowa Street. From the river only the walls can be seen to this day.

From a medieval stronghold to the Rederns

The castle’s history is not fully known; it most likely existed already in the 13th century, before Duke Władysław of Opole granted Krapkowice town rights in 1275. According to legend it was built by the Templars, like the castles in nearby Otmęt and Rogów Opolski, but this legend carries little truth. After the death of Duke Jan II the Good in 1532 the castle went to Jerzy Hohenzollern, around 1553 it was taken over by Isabella, Queen of Hungary, and in 1582 Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg sold Krapkowice to Count Jan Joachim von Redern. The Rederns erected a new, splendid residence on the site of the medieval stronghold — construction was completed in 1678, a date commemorated on the gate. The castle had a ground floor and two storeys, a mirrored summer dining hall and arcaded cloisters leading to a vineyard. A great town fire in 1722 ended its heyday.

The castle today

The Piastów Opolskich Vocational School Complex operates within its walls, and the courtyard is free to visit from dawn to dusk. A historic well, probably dating back to the Middle Ages, has survived in the courtyard, and inside there is an exhibition on the Silesian Uprisings. From the original furnishings remain, among others, decorated tiled stoves and the oak panelling of the former dining hall; on the upper floor the arcades were bricked up, turning the cloisters into a corridor.