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 1912-1920 for Ernst Gutschow, a wealthy Dresden cigar manufacturer who had bought it in 1909 and 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. 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.

History

Wenceslaus I of Bohemia had the stronghold built on the Bohemian-Lusatian border in 1241-1247, and in 1253 it was handed to Konrad von Wallhausen, Bishop of Meissen. It passed through Silesian and Bohemian hands, was taken by the Hussites in 1427 and from 1453 belonged to the Nostitz family for 250 years; in 1909 the Dresden cigar maker Ernst Gutschow bought it and had the architect Bodo Ebhardt remodel it after a painting of 1703, and since 2014 it has hosted the College of Wizardry role-playing game (Wikipedia, Czocha Castle).

What you'll find

• Secret passages and trick doors - built in during the 1912-1920 rebuilding.
• 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.

Practical notes

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.

Key facts