Międzylesie Castle

Above the Renaissance portal of Międzylesie Castle runs a frieze of sixteen coats of arms of Silesian and Bohemian noble families – a pedigree carved in stone. Behind it stands a building that shows three eras at once: the medieval Black Tower, a Renaissance manor around a small courtyard and two Baroque palace wings. The castle overlooks the market square of a small town at the southern tip of the Kłodzko Land, close to the Czech border, and today houses a hotel, a restaurant and a guided tour route.

History: the Glaubitz, Tschirnhaus and Althann families

The stone castle was built in the 14th century on the site of an earlier stronghold on the route from Wrocław to Prague. It was the seat of the knightly von Glaubitz family until it burned almost completely during the Hussite Wars. Only the tower survived, known ever since as the Black Tower. In 1580–1590 the Tschirnhaus family built a Renaissance manor on the ruins, incorporating the old tower, and in 1614–1622 two more wings were added.

The Thirty Years' War and a fire in the town badly damaged the residence. In the 17th century it passed to the Althann family, who held Międzylesie until 1945. In 1686–1695 they added two Baroque wings designed by the Italian architect Jacopo Carove and a wall enclosing a new courtyard. Finally, they linked the palace by a covered passage to the nearby Corpus Christi church.

After 1945 the castle came through almost undamaged, but the interiors were looted and the building served as a children's holiday centre. A fire struck in 1974, and the following years brought steady decline. The turning point came in 2008, when private investors bought the property and began restoration.

What to see

• The gateway with its Renaissance portal and heraldic frieze: 16 shields, including the Tschirnhaus and Saltza arms in the upper row and the Zedlitz arms below.
• The Black Tower – the oldest part of the castle, which survived the Hussite fire.
• Fragments of sgraffito decoration on the Renaissance façades.
• The Baroque wings, with barrel-vaulted rooms and stucco decoration.
• Two courtyards – a small Renaissance one and a larger Baroque one.

Interesting facts

Guides tell the legend of the ghost of a Glaubitz wife who is said to walk the balcony of the Black Tower at night. You can hear this and other stories on the night tours, held on Saturdays at a time set by the sunset. The building sequence itself is unusual: the Renaissance manor did not replace the medieval fortress but grew around its surviving tower, and the Baroque builders added new wings instead of rebuilding the older ones.

Tripto tip

The castle can only be visited with a guide. In the summer holiday season tours start every hour on the hour from 10:00 to 16:00 daily; the rest of the year they run daily at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00. Tickets are sold at the entrance on the market-square side, and in winter in the castle restaurant. A standard ticket costs PLN 45, a reduced one PLN 40, and dogs are welcome on the tour. There are car parks by the market square and on the lower castle side. Night tours must be booked on +48 665 000 055. Allow about an hour, and combine the visit with a trip into the Śnieżnik Massif.