Castles

Tarło Palace in Podzamcze Piekoszowskie

From the fields of Podzamcze Piekoszowskie rises a quadrangle with four hexagonal bastions — the former residence of the Tarło family, built in 1649–1655 on the model of the palace of the Kraków bishops in Kielce. The ruin still impresses, even though the building has been left to its fate for over a century and a half.

A residence for a princess

The palace was erected by Jan Aleksander Tarło for his second wife, Princess Anna Czartoryska. A legend tells that the young consort demanded to be taken to her new home in a sleigh in the middle of summer: the road was covered with salt, horses were harnessed, and the princess arrived at her seat as court fashion demanded. Another story explains the imitation of the Kielce model with a bishop's offence — he refused to come, as he did not intend to travel to villages and cottages.

A stronghold among ponds

The residence was raised on a small hill surrounded by ponds and wetlands, of stone and brick, on two storeys. Four mighty hexagonal bastions still tower over the building.

Decline and today

From 1842 the Piekoszów estate fell into ruin, and around 1860 fire consumed the palace. Aleksander Kozłowski tried to rebuild it but failed; after World War II the complex was nationalised. The ruin is freely accessible and free of charge, though not secured — the walls require caution. The drive from Kielce takes a quarter of an hour, and within a dozen kilometres wait the castle in Chęciny and Raj Cave.