Stopnica Castle

In the western part of Stopnica, in the Ponidzie region, stands a royal castle founded around 1350 by Casimir the Great. Over more than 600 years it served as a royal stopover, a Calvinist stronghold, a Baroque palace, the seat of the district authorities and a vegetable warehouse. Burned down in 1944, it regained its historic shape only in 2011; today it houses the municipal cultural centre, and admission is free.

History: a stop on the Kraków–Sandomierz road

Under Casimir the Great and Władysław Jagiełło the castle was a royal station on the road from Kraków to Sandomierz and the administrative centre for the surrounding estates. Jan Długosz described it in 1470–1480 as a royal manor, even a stone manor house. The chronicles record two stays by Queen Jadwiga, while Jagiełło stopped here five times: in 1405, 1410, 1411, 1412 and 1414. In 1404 the king granted Stopnica to Švitrigaila, but the estates were taken back after his rebellion.

From 1531 the governor (starost) was Marcin Zborowski, who founded a Calvinist congregation at the castle. The office later became the prize in a family feud: in 1587 Andrzej Zborowski raided Stopnica and kidnapped the starost Stanisław Tarnowski and his family. Further building work took place around 1618, most likely producing the structure that survives today. Plundered during the Swedish Deluge, the castle was repaired after 1664 by Jan Klemens Branicki.

From palace to warehouse

In 1783 the starost Eliasz Wodzicki turned the castle into a Baroque palace with two brick outbuildings, and on 11 June 1787 he received King Stanisław August Poniatowski here. After a town fire in 1854 the municipal authorities moved into the former palace, but five years later fire destroyed the roof and upper floor. Before the Second World War it housed the district office and a grammar school. In 1944 the building burned down completely; around 1958 the upper floor was demolished, and the single-storey remains served a horticultural and beekeeping cooperative as a fruit and vegetable collection point.

Rebuilding and what to see today

In 2004 the municipality of Stopnica bought the building and rebuilt it using photographs and documents, mostly from the 1930s. It reopened in January 2011. The municipal cultural centre occupies about 1,900 m² and includes a display of local museum collections, an auditorium, a library and a recording studio. Next door is a large recreation area with sports pitches, a tennis court, a seasonal pool with a retractable roof, a skatepark and a playground.

Tripto tips

30–45 minutes is enough for the castle and the local exhibition; with children, add time for the playground and sports area next door. According to the Green Velo route, entry to the building and use of the recreation area are free of charge. Check the cultural centre's opening hours before you travel. Busko-Zdrój is not far away, so Stopnica fits easily into a tour of the Ponidzie region.