History
Based on the documents, it can be assumed, that in the 12th century there was a castellan hillfort here, transformed into a brick castle in the 13th century. In 1306, the bishop of Kraków, Jan Muskata, received Biecz but quickly lost it to the Hungarians. The castle then became part of the domain of Polish kings. In 1475, at the behest of king Kazimierz Jagiellończyk, it was demolished for unexplained reasons. A possible reason was the transfer of the seat of the starosts to the second castle located within the town.
Architecture
The castle in Biecz was built on the so-called Castle Hill, located about 500 meters from today’s town. Thanks to archaeological research, we know that it had a rectangular plan of defensive walls with dimensions of approximately 20×42 meters. In the north-western part of the castle, there was a cylindrical tower with a diameter of about 10 meters. The internal building consisted of at least two rectangular houses attached to the perimeter wall. An additional 10×11 meters building was attached to its outer side, perhaps it was a gatehouse.
Current state
The ruins of the castle existed even in the 19th century, but today only the foundations preserved in the earth, testify to the existence of the castle.
bibliografia:
Leksykon zamków w Polsce, red. L.Kajzer, Warszawa 2003.
Moskal K., Zamki w dziejach Polski i Słowacji, Nowy Sącz 2004.