History
The small castle in Kłaczyna (German: Kauder) was likely built in the mid-14th century on the initiative of a private owner, a member of a Silesian knightly family. The estate in Kłaczyna, a settlement founded in the second half of the 13th century and first recorded in 1272 (“Chudir”), initially belonged to townspeople from Strzegom, Lwówek, and Kamienna Góra. It was likely in the second half of the 14th century that it was permanently divided into two parts. In 1367, records mentioned Nitsche and Thomas of Kłaczyna, while in 1368 Ruel Byer (Bier) appeared as the owner of the estate, bequeathing the property to his wife, Sophia. This document was the first mention of the stone residential and defensive seat in Kłaczyna.
In 1387 and 1394, the Kłaczyna estate was owned by Konrad Bier and Henry Bier, with Konrad himself still listed as the owner in 1399. That same year, another portion of the Kłaczyna estate was held by Konrad Reibnitz, who died shortly thereafter without issue. In 1406, the upper estate with its stone manor (“gemawerter Hof”) was sold by the Biers for 52 fines to Konrad Keuschberg. The lower estate on the other side of the village was owned by the Rohnau family at that time. In the mid-15th century, the castle was owned by Hannos Schindel von Kawder, a lay judge of the court in Jawor, and shortly thereafter by the Reibnitz family. Since 1473, from Kłaczyna was known Parcipal von Reibnitz, followed by his son Diprand, deputy starost of the Duchy of Świdnica-Jawor. He issued documents in Kłaczyna until his death in 1501, so he may have been responsible for the castle’s late medieval expansion and rebuilding. His son Franz sold castle in 1520 to Konrad Hoberg of Książ, starost of Świdnica-Jawor.
Early modern, Renaissance transformations to the castle took place in the second half of the 16th century, but likely did not fundamentally alter the building’s appearance (raising of the tower and adding an attic). These changes may have been initiated by members of the Reibnitz family. Before 1602, both estates in Kłaczyna were purchased by Georg von Schweinitz of Piotrowice Jaworskie. It subsequently became the property of his sons and other family members. It is possible that the Schweinitzs viewed Kłaczyna Castle as an old family seat, as they secured the “of Kłaczyna” predicate upon obtaining the title of baron. Despite this, the Thirty Years’ War brought an end to the building’s functioning, after which the castle was never rebuilt.
Architecture
The castle was located on an island surrounded by the waters of the Nysa Szalona, in the south-western part of the settlement, about four hundred meters from the Gothic church. Originally, it consisted of a four-storey tower, surrounded by a stone wall closing a quadrangular area of about 15.5 x 17 meters. After the defensive perimeter and tower were built, the space between them was filled with earth, creating a small courtyard. As a result of the late medieval expansion, the castle was enlarged by a stone residential and utility part on the south-eastern side.
The tower had dimensions of 7 x 7 meters, so it was a small building with a slender form. The entrance to its interior was placed in the eastern wall, for defensive reasons on the first floor, where it could be accessed by a ladder or by means of a footbridge from the crown of the perimeter wall. The lowest storey of the tower was covered with vault, and due to the mound of the artificial island, it had the character of a cellar or basement. The upper floors were separated by flat ceilings with beams set on offsets, with the second level being 3 meters high. Each floor consisted of a single room, possibly divided by timber screens. The tower was likely topped by an open defensive level, surrounded by a battlemented parapet.
The late medieval southeastern part of the castle measured 17 x 17 meters, with a courtyard enclosed on two sides by buildings, and on the north perhaps by an arcades and gate. On the western side, the courtyard was bounded by an older tower perimeter wall, along which a gate, providing communication between the two parts of the castle. The buildings included a narrow southwestern, probably utility wing, and a wide southeastern building, housing, among others, a corner kitchen. It was a rectangular structure measuring 6.5-7.5 x 7 meters, covered with a groin vault, merging into a pyramidal chimney, tapering upward in a stepped manner.
During the late Gothic expansion, the tower core was enclosed on at least two sides (east and south) by a single or two-story communication and utility bays, accessible from the north through a late Gothic double-arm portal. The southern section of the building adjacent to the tower was covered with a brick barrel vault. Above, the structure was constructed using a half-timbered structure, and it is possible that the upper floors were suspended above the defensive wall as early as the late Middle Ages. To reinforce it, five buttresses were added from the outside.
Current state
Although in the mid-19th century the castle was still in a state of ruin of a considerable height, and even in the interwar years part of the tower existed, unfortunately due to neglect and long-term lack of renovation works, only small fragments of the building have survived to this day. The greatest height is reached by relics of a quadrangular tower, the lower part of which may still be hidden under a pile of rubble overgrown with grass. From the former castle kitchen only the outline of the walls and a fragment of the wall with a niche are visible.
bibliography:
Adamska D., Błoniewski P., Boguszewicz A., Chorowska M., Dudziak T., Kwaśniewski A., Zamki i dwory obronne na Śląsku, tom 1, księstwo świdnickie, Wrocław 2026.
Chorowska M., Rezydencje średniowieczne na Śląsku, Wrocław 2003.
Leksykon zamków w Polsce, red. L.Kajzer, Warszawa 2003.