Castles

Krasiczyn Castle

Four towers named Divine, Papal, Royal and Noble — at Krasiczyn, architecture tells the story of a divinely ordered world. The Renaissance-Mannerist residence, laid out as a quadrangle, was built at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries by Stanisław Krasicki, and his son Marcin carried out a great expansion in 1598–1633, creating a fortified residence with attics, arcaded cloisters and sgraffito decoration.

Towers that mean something

The names of the bastions reflected the roles of the Church, the Pope, the king and the nobility. The Papal Tower housed rooms for high church dignitaries — the papal nuncio Cosimo de Torres probably stayed there, and it was in the chapel of the Divine Tower that he was to present a sword blessed by the Pope.

From the Krasickis to the Sapiehas

The castle remained in Krasicki hands until 1687. In 1726 it was raided by Russians and Cossacks, who looted the interiors and wrecked the Papal Tower; during the rebuilding, plaster covered the sgraffito. From 1834 the castle belonged to the Sapiehas — Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha was born here. The family planted a tree in the park for every newborn child: an oak for a son, a linden for a daughter — they still grow today. After a fire in 1852, the castle was rebuilt, and after 1928 it was restored under Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz.

What to see

The heart of the residence is the arcaded courtyard, with surviving fragments of sgraffito decoration on the walls. Since 20 April 2018 the castle has carried the status of a Monument of History. Scenes of "Pan Tadeusz" were filmed here, as well as the Soviet "Wind from the East" (1940). Krasiczyn lies near Przemyśl; allow 1–2 hours for the castle and the park.