Żary Castle

A few steps from the market square in Żary stands an ensemble where the Gothic castle of the Biberstein family sits next to the Baroque palace of the Promnitz family. Georg Philipp Telemann, who led the court orchestra here, was married in the palace chapel, and in the 19th century the old castle became a Prussian prison. After years as a ruin and an arson fire in the tower in 2019, the castle now belongs to the town, which in 2026 began a restoration costing over PLN 40 million.

History: Dewin, the Bibersteins and the Promnitzes

The masonry castle was probably built in the mid-13th century by Albrecht Dewin; it corresponds to today's north wing. From 1280 Żary belonged to the Pack family from Meissen, who added the west wing and a tower in 1320–1329. In 1355 the town passed to the Bibersteins. In the mid-16th century Hieronymus and Christoph von Biberstein remodelled the castle in Renaissance style, surrounding the courtyard on three sides with arcaded galleries decorated with sgraffito. In 1558 the Promnitz family bought the castle and in 1710–1728 built a Baroque palace next to it, known as the new castle. Around 1700 the tower received a Baroque cupola. From 1824 the old castle served as a Prussian state prison, and from 1930 to 1945 it housed a regional museum. A fire in 1945 gutted both buildings.

Telemann at the Promnitz court

In 1705 the young Telemann became Kapellmeister to the Counts of Promnitz. The Żary court was considered one of the most splendid aristocratic courts of the Saxon-Polish era and kept an orchestra of Polish, Czech and German musicians. In Żary, and later in Pszczyna and on trips to Kraków, the composer encountered Polish dance and folk music, which inspired many of his works. A Telemann bench, unveiled in 2010, stands on the market square.

What to see

• The square tower set into the south wing, its cupola rebuilt in 2020–2021 after an arson attack in 2019.
• Four wings around the courtyard with arcaded galleries, blending Gothic and Renaissance.
• The façade of the Promnitz palace with a colonnade of eight Corinthian columns and a semicircular pediment bearing the arms of Erdmann II von Promnitz and Anna Maria of Saxe-Weissenfels.

Tripto tip

In summer 2026 the town signed a contract for a full renovation of the Dewin-Biberstein-Promnitz castle, which is to become a Centre of Culture and Tradition. Expect a building site while work is under way; do not count on seeing the interiors, which the Region Łużyce association previously opened only occasionally. The best way to see the castle and palace is from the outside on a half-hour walk around the old town, ending at Telemann's bench on the market square.