Morsko – Castle Bąkowiec

History

   The castle could have been erected by king Casimir the Great or prince Władysław Opolczyk as a border watchtower. The first mention in the sources appears in 1389, when the castle chaplain is mentioned. Subsequent messages from 1416-1418 mention the burgrave. The first owner of Bąkowiec was Mikołaj Strzała. After him, the stronghold was acquired by the later camerarius of Kraków, Piotr Lis, then Jan from Sieciechowic and Mikołaj Morawiec from Konaszówka. From 1435, the castle belonged to Koziegłowy family. It is difficult to say when the building ceased to function as a defensive residence. Around 1927, the architect Witold Danielewicz Czeczott bought the hill with the ruins of the castle, and built his house using the castle walls.

Architecture

   The castle was erected from a local, unworked limestone on an elongated plateau of a hill with an area of approximately 500 m2. It consisted of several buildings enclosed by a perimeter wall, running irregularly on the edge of the rock. From the east there was a economic courtyard separated by a moat. Access to the water source could have been somewhat problematic, as the well was on the opposite side of the economic ward, at the foot of the rock. Its protection was provided by an earth rampart, probably topped with a palisade. Water could probably be drawn using a bucket hung on a rope and pulled directly onto the upper castle.

Current state

   The castle is currently in a state of ruin, with the original fragments preserved in the upper part of the rock, while the lower part is the result of modern reconstruction from the interwar period.

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bibliography:
Kołodziejski S., Średniowieczne rezydencje obronne możnowładztwa na terenie województwa krakowskiego, Warszawa 1994.

Leksykon zamków w Polsce, red. L.Kajzer, Warszawa 2003.
Sypek R., Zamki i obiekty warowne Jury Krakowsko-Częstochowskiej, Warszawa 2003.