Krzyztopor Castle

Krzyztopor was built between about 1621 and 1644 for Krzysztof Ossolinski, a Sandomierz palatine, and it was conceived as an emblem: four towers for the seasons, twelve great halls for the months, fifty-two rooms for the weeks and three hundred and sixty-five windows for the days, laid out inside a pentagonal bastioned fortification of the palazzo in fortezza type on a scale that made it, before Versailles was finished, one of the largest residences in Europe. The name joins a cross and an axe, both carved on the gate, for the owner's faith and his family arms. Ossolinski died a year after it was completed. Swedish troops took and looted it in 1655, it was never fully repaired, and the last occupants left in 1770. It has been a ruin ever since - roofless halls, bastion walls, a great cellar - stabilised and opened with walkways, and it is one of the largest castle ruins in Poland.

What you actually see

• A calendar in stone - four towers, twelve halls, fifty-two rooms, 365 windows.
• A pentagonal fortification - the palazzo in fortezza plan around the residence.
• The cross and axe - both carved on the gate, for faith and family arms.
• Roofless halls - stabilised ruin with walkways through it.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is entirely ruin - there are no interiors and no roof. Exposed in bad weather. The 365-windows account is traditional and cannot now be checked against the fabric. The village has minimal services.

Nearby

Opatow is fifteen kilometres north; Sandomierz is east.