Chojnik Castle

Chojnik stands on a granite dome at 627 metres on the northern edge of the Karkonosze, with a hundred-and-fifty-metre cliff dropping from the walls on the south-east side, which made it hard to take and makes the view from the tower long. It was built from 1292 by the Silesian Piasts, passed to the Schaffgotsch family, and burned after a lightning strike in 1675 - it has been a ruin ever since, which is why it looks the way it does: roofless courtyards, a tower, a well shaft, and grass. The legend attached to it concerns Kunegunda, a lady of the castle who required suitors to ride the wall parapet above the drop and watched them fall until one survived, rode away, and refused her. Access is on foot only, an hour up through beech and spruce from Sobieszow, and the cliff below the castle is a well-known climbing wall.

History

Duke Bolko I the Strict raised the castle in 1292 on the site of a hunting lodge built by his father, and his grandson Bolko II the Small had it rebuilt from 1355. After Bolko II died without issue in 1368 his widow sold it to the knight Gotsche Schoff, whose family, the Schaffgotsch, held it for most of its history; Gotsche II Schoff enlarged it in 1393 and founded the chapel finished in 1403, and in 1675 the castle, never taken, was gutted by fire after a lightning strike and left as a ruin. It drew visitors from the early 18th century, and in 1822 the family added a tavern and three years later rebuilt the tower (Wikipedia, Chojnik Castle).

What you'll find

• A ruin on granite - roofless courtyards and a tower at 627 metres.
• A cliff below the walls - a hundred and fifty metres down into the Hell Valley.
• The Kunegunda legend - suitors sent to ride the parapet above the drop.
• Climbing routes - on the wall below the castle.

When to go

April to October. Half a day including the walk.

Things to know

There is no vehicle access - it is a steep hour on foot each way. The ruin has no roof and no shelter in bad weather. The tower stairs close in ice. Weekend crowds come up from Jelenia Gora.

Nearby

Karkonosze National Park begins above; Cieplice spa is in the valley.

Key facts