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 and it was never fully repaired; in 1770 it was finally ruined, and its last known resident left in 1787. 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.

History

Krzysztof Ossoliński's father gave him the village of Ujazd in 1619; the castle is first documented in 1627, still unfinished, and Ossoliński probably completed it in 1644 at a cost of 30 million złoty. The Swedes held it from 1655 to 1657 and plundered it, after which it was thought too costly to rebuild, though noble families lived in the best-preserved western wing; in 1770 it was finally ruined, and its last known resident, Stanisław Sołtyk, lived there in 1782-87 (Wikipedia, Krzyżtopór).

The main sights

• 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.

What to expect

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.

Key facts