Czocha Castle

Czocha began in the thirteenth century as a Bohemian border stronghold on a rock above the Kwisa and was rebuilt several times, most consequentially in 1909-1914 for Ernst Gutschow, a wealthy Dresden cigarette manufacturer, who had it restored and greatly enlarged in a romantic manner and filled it with secret passages, concealed doors, a hidden staircase and a room with a trap. There are said to be around thirty such devices; the guided tour shows a number of them, which is why children like the place. It sits above a reservoir made when the Kwisa was dammed in the 1900s. The castle now runs as a hotel and conference house, has appeared in a long list of Polish films and television, and is used for large live-action role-playing events staged as a school of magic, which draw participants from across Europe and which the castle now advertises openly.

What you actually see

• Secret passages and trick doors - built in during the 1909-1914 restoration.
• A rock above the reservoir - the Kwisa dammed below the walls.
• A romantic rebuild - a Dresden industrialist's version of a medieval castle.
• Film and role-playing use - a regular set, and a staged school of magic.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Much of the fabric is early twentieth-century romantic rebuilding, not medieval. The castle is a working hotel and closes areas for events. Tours are guided, timed and busy at weekends.

Nearby

Lake Lesnianskie is below; Swieradow-Zdroj is south.