Olsztyn Castle (Kraków-Częstochowa Upland)

A white cylindrical tower rising from a limestone crag is one of the best-known silhouettes on the Trail of the Eagles' Nests. The ruins of the castle in Olsztyn near Częstochowa hold the story of a governor starved to death, a dramatic defence in 1587 and — underneath — a cave where Neanderthals left hundreds of flint tools. Since April 2024 the walls have been open to visitors again after conservation work.

History: from watchtower to royal fortress

The first mention of the castle, then called the castle in Przemiłowice, dates from 1306, in the records of the trial of Bishop Jan Muskata of Kraków. The document concerns events of 1294, however, and research in 2010 confirmed that a watchtower stood here as early as the 13th century. Casimir the Great expanded it into one of the strongest fortresses on the Silesian–Lesser Poland border. According to tradition, this is where Maćko Borkowic, governor of Poznań, was starved to death for plotting against the king — local legends claim his groans and the clanking of his chains can still be heard.

In 1370 Louis of Hungary gave Olsztyn as a fief to Władysław of Opole, and in 1391 Spytek of Melsztyn retook the castle for the Crown after a week-long siege. The lower castle was built in the 15th century, and King Sigismund Augustus stayed here in 1545.

The defence of Olsztyn and the fall

In 1587 the castle was besieged by the troops of Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg, a claimant to the Polish throne. The commander of the defence, the starost Kasper Karliński, saw his own young son, who had been kidnapped, placed in the line of fire in front of the walls. The defence succeeded, but at the cost of the child's life; the story was later told by Władysław Syrokomla and Aleksander Fredro. In October 1655 the Swedes marching on Częstochowa captured and wrecked the fortress, which was never rebuilt. Stone from its walls was used, among other things, to build the parish church in 1722–1726.

What to see

• The keep — a cylindrical tower of white limestone with a brick upper section, about 35 m tall, once used as a prison.
• The Starost's Tower — square, the second landmark of the ruins.
• The Well Tower — restored in recent years with new floors, windows and a wooden staircase.
• The lower castle and caves — in 2019 several hundred Neanderthal flint tools were found in a cave once used as a larder, and a year later an unknown system of tunnels and fissures was described.

Tripto tips

Entry to the ruins is paid; check current prices and opening hours at zamekolsztyn.pl before you go. Allow about an hour and a half for the castle and a walk around the hill, and if you have more time, continue to nearby Biakło hill or the Sokole Góry nature reserve. The hill is rocky, so comfortable shoes are useful, and with children keep to the marked paths. The best light for photos of the keep is in the late afternoon, and Częstochowa is only about 10 km away.