Castles

Milicz Castle

By the Barycz river, in the park of Milicz next to the Maltzan palace, stand the ruins of a castle whose history goes back to the 12th century. The walls are not open to visitors, but the spot is worth a stop — a witness of medieval diplomacy and one of the more interesting monuments of the Barycz Valley.

From stronghold to residence

The first stronghold stood here in the 12th century as a seat of the archbishops of Gniezno and later passed to the bishops of Wrocław. It was in the Milicz residence that the so-called Treaty of Milicz was signed in 1282, ending the dispute between the Teutonic Knights and Duke Mściwoj II of Pomerania. In the mid-14th century Konrad I of Oleśnica bought the town and built a defensive castle with a residential tower — already three storeys high, with latrines on every floor, a real luxury in medieval times.

Fires and decline

After a great fire in the 16th century the Kurzbach family rebuilt the castle as a Renaissance residence, and the estate later passed to the Maltzan family, who ruled Milicz until the end of World War II. Another fire in the late 18th century sealed the castle's fate: the Maltzans erected a new palace next door, and the medieval walls fell into decay, abandoned completely by the mid-19th century.

Visiting and the surroundings

The ruin is fenced off and closed to visitors, as the walls are at risk of collapse; fragments of the brick residential tower and traces of the moat can still be seen. The historic park and the palace, which today houses a forestry school, can be walked freely — in front of it stands a carp statue from the Colourful Carp Trail. Milicz is also a good starting point for trips to the fishponds of the Barycz Valley.