Sucha Beskidzka Castle

Sucha Beskidzka Castle is nicknamed "Little Wawel" because its arcaded courtyard resembles the royal castle in Kraków. Over four centuries this Renaissance residence at the foot of Mount Jasień passed through several noble families, and in the 19th century it held a library of tens of thousands of volumes. Today it houses the Town Museum, which also tells the story of Sucha's most famous son, the film director Billy Wilder.

History: from Kasper Suski's manor to a museum

The castle's story begins with Kasper Suski, who probably built a fortified stone manor here in 1554–1580; its walls survive in today's south wing. In 1608 the estate passed to the Komorowski family, and Piotr Komorowski enlarged the building into the three-wing layout that remains today. The Wielopolski family stayed longest, from 1665 to 1843. Anna Konstancja Wielopolska, mistress of the castle in 1693–1726, added two towers and modernised the interiors.

In 1843 the castle was bought by Aleksander Branicki, whose son Władysław commissioned a full restoration by the architect Tadeusz Stryjeński in 1882–1887. After a fire in 1905, Stryjeński rebuilt the residence again. From 1922 it belonged to the Tarnowski family. After the Second World War it housed a secondary school, a boarding house, a furniture factory and a warehouse, until in 1975 the Wawel Royal Castle collections began a conservation programme that lasted until 1991. Since 2016 the castle and park have belonged to the town.

What to see

The castle has three wings around a courtyard open to the east, four projecting towers and arcaded galleries on the taller wings. Inside, look out for:

• the Marshal's (Knights') Hall with a stone fireplace, the only surviving piece of the original furnishings,
• the chapel in the clock tower with traces of wall paintings,
• the Town Museum's permanent exhibitions: the history of the castle and town, paintings and hunting weapons from the collection of the Żywiec Habsburgs, works collected by Maria and Emil Zegadłowicz, and archaeological finds from the Skawa valley.

To the south lies a large 19th-century landscape park with plane trees, red oaks and stone footbridges over streams. On its edge stands the Gardener's House with the museum's ethnographic department.

Did you know?

In 1932 the Branicki and Tarnowski library held about 55,000 volumes, including an illuminated 13th-century Bible and 22 incunabula. Professors from the universities of Kraków and Lviv came to use it. During the war much of the collection was destroyed or dispersed, and the Bible ended up at Wawel. The museum also has an exhibition on cinema in Sucha and on Billy Wilder, director of "Some Like It Hot", who was born here on 22 June 1906.

Tripto tip

The castle stands a few hundred metres north of the town centre, near where the Stryszawka flows into the Skawa. Allow 1–1.5 hours for the museum and courtyard, plus half an hour for a walk in the park. Opening hours change outside the tourist season, so check the museum website before you go. The castle also has a hotel and restaurant, and on the market square it is worth stopping at the wooden "Rzym" inn from the early 18th century, linked to the Polish legend of Pan Twardowski, a nobleman who sold his soul to the devil.