Krzyżtopór Castle

Krzyżtopór Castle is located in Ujazd, in the Świętokrzyskie region. It was built in the seventeenth century, and today only parts of it remain, mostly ruins.

It is a vast palace-castle built in the Italian style and set within a pentagonal bastion fortification (the pentagon was associated with Mars, the god of war). It served both as a residence and as a fortress, because the palace was surrounded by defensive walls.

Above the gate there is a characteristic cross (a symbol of faith and politics) and an axe - a symbol referring to the coat of arms of the Ossoliński family, from which the founder of the castle, Krzysztof Ossoliński, came. He was the Voivode of Sandomierz. The symbols on the gate were meant to defend the faith of the inhabitants, from which they would never stray.

You could say that the castle is an attempt to realize the dream of the founder. He had the means, a well-known name, and a family fortune. In the seventeenth century - until the construction of Versailles - Krzyżtopór was said to be Northern Europe's largest castle-palace complex. In its heyday, splendor reigned: the roof of the tower was built of glass, beautiful gardens stretched around the palace. Interestingly, this building was never fully completed. Neither the founder of the castle nor his son had the chance to live in it. The founder died of disease, and his son was killed on a military expedition. Successive owners were reluctant to spend money on completing the building and consequently the castle fell into disrepair.

Fun fact: during the Swedish invasion in 1655, the Swedes captured the castle. They stayed until 1657 and looted it badly, and repairing the damage was too expensive. Russian troops completed the ruin when they took the castle in 1770, during the Bar Confederation.

Interestingly, the design of the castle reflected the founder's passion for numbers and their magic. And so the castle was built with 365 windows (as many as the days in a year), 52 rooms (symbolizing weeks), 12 halls (symbolizing months) and 4 towers (quarters).

The castle occupies an area of 1.3 hectares, the total length of the walls is 600 m. There are marked visitor routes, and the site is officially open to the public. Thanks to an EU grant, the site was adapted for tourists - there are safety barriers in dangerous places, lighting in the underground passages and even metal stairs. In addition, at the gate you can find a souvenir shop and sanitary facilities.

Visiting the castle is also an interesting attraction for children. Ours were eager to find secret passages linking various places in the castle.