Wieluń Castle

All that remains of the royal castle in Wieluń are its Gothic cellars from the 14th century, hidden beneath a classicist building at 2 Kazimierza Wielkiego Square. Today the county office (starostwo) works here, but within these walls peace treaties were signed with Silesian dukes, and queens stayed for months at a time.

History: from castrum Wilyn to the starost's seat

The stronghold in Wieluń, castrum Wilyn, was first mentioned in 1311, when the seat of the castellany moved here from nearby Ruda. According to the chronicler Janko of Czarnków, the town was fortified by Casimir the Great, who probably built stone walls and a Gothic castle in place of the wooden fort after the fire of 1335. Documents from 1388 and 1393 mention the castle's steward and the chapel of St Catherine "in castro nostro Velunensi". After Casimir's death the Wieluń land was ruled by Władysław of Opole, who styled himself Duke of Wieluń, until in 1391 Władysław Jagiełło took the castle after a short siege.

Between 1432 and 1474 peace treaties with Silesian dukes and towns were signed at Wieluń Castle. In the mid-15th century the fortress was burnt by the troops of Duke Janusz of Oświęcim and was rebuilt only in the second half of the 16th century, when the starosty became part of Queen Bona's estates. From then on the castle often hosted royal ladies: Isabella Jagiellon spent the autumn of 1553 here, and Catherine of Austria, the third wife of Sigismund Augustus, lived here for nine months in 1566 before leaving Poland.

Fires and Goleński's palace

The castle burned many times. After the fire of 1631, only the walls and two vaulted archive rooms were left. The rebuilt fortress was occupied by the Swedes, who in January 1656 held out against Polish troops under Krzysztof Żegocki and set the castle on fire when they withdrew in spring. Hieronim Olszowski rebuilt it around 1673, now without any defensive features. Further fires followed in 1727 and 1791; after the last one only the tower and fragments of the walls remained, and these began to be pulled down. The ruins housed a military hospital and stores, and later a cloth manufactory. In 1837 they were bought by the district commissioner Fryderyk August Goleński, who by 1843 had built a classicist palace on the castle's foundations.

What to see

• The palace façade with a four-column portico and a triangular pediment with an oculus – clearly visible on archive postcards from the early 20th century.
• The Gothic brick cellars, entered in the heritage register on 30 December 1967 – the only surviving part of the castle.

Tripto tips

• This is a working office, not a museum. You can view the façade freely; ask at the county office (tel. +48 43 843 42 80) whether it is possible to visit the cellars.
• A quarter of an hour is enough to see the building from outside. Combine it with a walk around Wieluń's old town and the surviving sections of the town walls.