Sucha Beskidzka Castle

The castle at Sucha began as a manor house of 1554-1558 and was enlarged in 1608-1630 for the Komorowski family into a three-wing Renaissance residence around a courtyard with arcaded loggias on two levels and a tower, and the resemblance to the Wawel courtyard is close enough that it has been called Maly Wawel for a long time. It later belonged to the Wielopolski and Branicki families; the Branicki library here was substantial, and what survives of it is kept in various Polish libraries and museums. The buildings now hold the town museum, a hotel and a university of tourism. Across the road stands Karczma Rzym, a wooden inn of the eighteenth century - Rzym means Rome - which is linked in local tradition to the Pan Twardowski legend, in which a Polish nobleman's contract with the devil specified Rome as the place of collection and he was seized in an inn of that name. The inn still serves food and plays the story up.

History

Kasper Suski built the first fortified manor house in 1554-1558, and in 1608-1630 the Komorowski family enlarged it into a castle modelled on Wawel, which earned it the name Little Wawel. Duchess Anna Konstancja Wielopolska added two towers in 1708, the Branicki family created its library, and after a fire in 1905 the castle was rebuilt in 1910 under Tadeusz Stryjeński; the town bought it in 2016 and renovated its exterior in 2017-2018 (Wikipedia, Sucha Beskidzka Castle).

What's there

• Two levels of arcaded loggia - the courtyard that earned it the Little Wawel name.
• A three-wing Renaissance plan - a manor of the 1550s enlarged in 1608-1630.
• Karczma Rzym - the wooden inn opposite, tied to the Twardowski devil legend.
• A museum inside - local and family collections in part of the building.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Before you go

Much of the building is a hotel and school, so access is to the museum and courtyard rather than the whole house. The devil legend is folklore worked up for the restaurant. The town itself is a road and rail junction with little else.

Nearby

Zawoja and Babia Gora are south; Wadowice is north.

Key facts