Łęczyca Royal Castle

A red-brick quadrangle on an artificial mound above the Bzura River, this is one of Casimir the Great's most important strongholds in central Poland. At Łęczyca Royal Castle King Władysław Jagiełło held war councils before the conflict with the Teutonic Knights, prisoners from Grunwald were held, and four Sejms met. Legend has it that the cellars are still home to Boruta the devil, guardian of a hidden treasure, while the rebuilt New House is occupied by the Łęczyca Museum.

History: from Casimir to the Deluge

The exact date of construction is unknown. Work may have started soon after 1345, when the Łęczyca land still belonged to Duke Władysław the Hunchback; after his death (1352) Casimir the Great completed the castle and used it as a residence. In 1406 the Teutonic Knights burned it, but by 1409 Władysław Jagiełło came here for a council ahead of the Great War with the Order. After Grunwald, in 1410, Teutonic prisoners awaited ransom in the castle. Sejms met here in 1420, 1448, 1454 and 1462, and according to tradition it was in Łęczyca that Jagiełło received a Hussite envoy who offered him the crown of Bohemia.

In the second half of the 15th century a fire wrecked the building. It was only rebuilt in 1563–1565 by Crown Treasurer and starost Jan Lutomirski, who added the Renaissance New House at a cost of nearly 3,000 florins from the royal treasury. In 1655 the castle was taken by the Swedes under General Robert Douglas, and on 7 October 1656 it was recaptured by the army of King John Casimir.

Ruin and reconstruction

After the Third Partition the Prussians incorporated the ruin into new fortifications and built a brick powder magazine on the foundations of the former residential house; it still stands today. From 1831 the mayor of Łęczyca had the castle dismantled for bricks; after 1834 the north walls, part of the New House and the gate tower collapsed. The demolition only stopped after an intervention, when the town formally took over the castle in 1841. After the Second World War it housed a scout troop, and from 1964 the New House, the gate tower and part of the walls were rebuilt.

What to see

• Walls 10 m high around a quadrangle with sides of 43–66 m and an area of 2,600 m².
• The octagonal Nobles' Tower in the south-west corner and the rebuilt gate tower, about 18 m high.
• The New House with the exhibitions of the Łęczyca Museum.
• The powder magazine from the late 18th century in the courtyard.

Did you know?

In legend Boruta takes many forms — most often a nobleman with a black moustache and a long coat hiding his tail, but also a black horse, an owl or a horned fish in the Bzura. According to one tale, around 1360 he pulled Casimir the Great's carriage out of the mud and was given the castle as a reward. In 1769 the Russian general Ivan Drevich captured Łęczyca and its castle while fighting the Bar Confederates.

Tripto tips

Allow about an hour for the courtyard, walls and exhibitions. The castle is in the centre of Łęczyca, between Łódź and Kutno, a few minutes' walk from the market square. Check current opening hours and ticket prices directly with the Łęczyca Museum before you go. The visit pairs well with the Romanesque collegiate church in nearby Tum, a few kilometres away.