History
The first mention of the castle dates back to the end of the 14th century. It was probably erected by the Niemierza of the Strzała coat of arms, writing from Bydlin in 1388, or by his father Pełka. The defensive knight’s residence (castrum) was confirmed for the first time in written sources in 1400. At the end of the fifteenth century, Bydlin passed to Brzeziccy, and then Szczepanowscy and Boner families. At the end of the 16th century, another owner, Mikołaj Firlej, rebuilt the castle into the church of the Holy Cross. In 1655, it was destroyed by the Swedes, and in spite of the reconstruction, at the end of the 18th century, it was gradually abandoned and ruined.
Architecture
The castle was built of local limestone on a lofty hill with steep slopes. The defensive-residential layout consisted of a high rectangular tower house with dimensions of 11.4×24 meters and a wall thickness of up to 2.3 meters, incorporated into the perimeter of earth ramparts separating a small courtyard on the southern side. The main building had buttresses at the corners, and at least three floors with two rooms on each. The entrance was located on the facade axis, 2.5 meters from the courtyard level. A wooden staircase or ladder had to lead to it, which could be easily dismantled in an emergency.
In the second phase of construction, probably still in the fourteenth century, a perimeter wall was added with a gatehouse on the plan of an irregular quadrangle in the south-eastern part. It was fully extended in front of the face of the defensive wall. The whole complex was surrounded by a ditch, partly carved in rock and a stone and earth rampart.
Current state
The remains of the castle walls have survived in the form of a ruin, of the main residential tower house. They were strengthened and renovated a few years ago, unfortunately after a partial collapse of one of the walls that has not been rebuilt. The remains of the ditch are also visible. Admission to the castle grounds is free.
bibliography:
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Lasek P., Obronne siedziby rycerskie i możnowładcze w czasach Kazimierza Wielkiego [w:] Wielkie murowanie. Zamki w Polsce za Kazimierza Wielkiego, red. A.Bocheńska, P. Mrozowski, Warszawa 2019.
Leksykon zamków w Polsce, red. L.Kajzer, Warszawa 2003.
Sypek R., Zamki i obiekty warowne Jury Krakowsko-Częstochowskiej, Warszawa 2003.