History
The oldest wood and earth seat of the Siewierz castellans was built around the second quarter or mid-13th century. Archaeological findings suggest that the oldest stone element of the castle, a cylindrical bergfried tower, was built in the third quarter of the 13th century, perhaps around 1276, when Siewierz received its town charter. The castle’s defensive perimeter was rebuilt in stone as early as the mid-14th century, as in 1359 Siewierz Castle was referred to as a “haus,” a term used to refer to brick structures. The oldest mention of the castle (“castrum Sevor”) in documents was recorded in 1337, when the Prince of Cieszyn, Kazimierz I, undertook to pay to Władysław, Prince of Bytom, Toszek and Koźle 720 fines and 133 groszes for the Siewier castle district and additionally 150 Prague groszes for Siewierz Castle.
Since the thirteenth century, Siewierz was subordinate to the princes of Opole. In the years 1337-1359 it belonged to the Cieszyn prince Kazimierz I, and in 1359 the Cieszyn prince Przemysław Noszak sold the Duchy of Siewierz to the prince of Świdnica and Jawor, Bolek II. In 1443, the indebted Prince of Cieszyn, Wacław I, sold the castle together with the land of Siewierz (“castrum principale ducatus et terre Sewyor”) to the bishop of Kraków, Zbigniew Oleśnicki. After several years of dispute with other Silesian princes, the bishops of Kraków adopted the secular title of the princes of Siewierz, and the Duchy of Siewierz became an almost independent political entity. The castle began to play the role of the administrative and political seat of this principality, thanks to which it was expanded and acquired a representative appearance.
In the sixteenth century the bishops expanded the fortress, giving it a renaissance decoration and adapting it to fire defense. Particular merit is attributed to Jan Konarski, Andrzej Zebrzydowski, Filip Padniewski and Franciszek Krasinski. In the 17th century the castle began to slowly decline, and the devastation deepened the invasion of the Swedes. After the war, the last major reconstruction was undertaken in 1681-1699 on the initiative of bishop Jan Małachowski. In 1790 the Great Sejm liquidated the Siewierz Duchy by incorporating them into the Polish Commonwealth. Abandoned by prince bishop Felix Turski the castle has since fallen into ruin. Even during the Napoleonic Wars, it was used militarily, but since 1807 it has remained unoccupied.
Architecture
The castle was situated in the bend of the Czarna Przemsza River, on an artificial mound among its backwaters and swamps. Initially, it was a wood and earth stronghold, surrounded by a wide, but relatively low, sandy rampart, with wood-reinforced edges, with planks arranged longitudinally and supported on piles. There was also a moat in front of the rampart. Inside the defensive circuit there were timber buildings.
The castle oldest stone structure was a cylindrical tower, 9 meters in diameter, built around the third quarter of the 13th century. It likely had dimensions similar to those of the nearby castles in Smoleń or Olsztyn, meaning its height may have reached around 20-30 meters. It served as a bergfried, or tower of ultimate defense. Like other structures, its lowest floor may have housed a dark chamber intended as a prison or pantry, above which there may have been a room for guards or a chamber serving as an entrance vestibule. Above it, there may have been a room intended for staying during a siege, while the highest floor, covered with a conical roof, was likely intended for active defense. Vertical communication may have been via ladders or internal stairs embedded in the wall’s thickness.
The castle’s perimeter wall was built on an older timber rampart. This solution was chosen due to the marshy and unstable subsoil and the desire to utilize the well-laid ground. The top of the old rampart was cut down, and a foundation trench reinforced with formwork was then dug in. The defensive wall was built on a roughly oval plan, unconnected at any point with the bergfried. It was approximately 1.5-2 meters thick and 8 meters high. At the crown it was topped by a wall-walk, likely hidden behind a crenellated parapet.
The castle’s oldest stone residential building was likely located in the western or northwestern part of the courtyard, where it formed part of the castle’s defensive perimeter or was adjacent to the defensive wall. It may have had two or three stories, with a typical medieval division into a utility ground floor and a residential/representative upper floor. Some of the building’s rooms may have been covered with cross-rib vaults (a Gothic boss was found in the moat area). Another stone building may have been located in the eastern part of the courtyard. The entrance to the castle was from the south. Initially, it was a simple portal pierced in the wall, but around the mid-15th century it was reinforced with a gatehouse.
During the great reconstruction, before 1518, a new gate tower was erected in the northern part of the castle. A residential house east of the tower was also built, which was probably demolished in the 30s of the 16th century. The southern and western wing of the castle was built from its material. In 1575, a terrace for artillery was erected, and the entry gate was reinforced with a two-story foregate to which the drawbridge led. In the gate passage of the gate tower there was a trapdoor, cutting off further access to the castle, in case of capture the foregate.
Current state
The castle is currently a ruin, a remnant of the residence it became after the Renaissance and Baroque reconstructions of the 16th and 17th centuries. Although these transformations erased the castle’s Gothic character, its shape remained visible, thanks to the absorption of the original walls into the early modern building. The Gothic defensive wall has survived on the eastern side in best condition, between the second and third buttresses. Several Renaissance windows pierce it there, highlighting its considerable thickness, significantly different from the early modern wings, which were built with external walls over the old wall, after the removal of the battlements. The Gothic wall has survived along the entire perimeter, except for the southern section. Fragments of the residential wings, the tower above the main gate, and the barbican are also visible. During the renovation works carried out since 2007, a timber bridge leading to the castle was built, the castle courtyard was lined with granite cubes, with the marked place where the bergfried stood. In addition, part of the walls were secured and reconstructed, and graffiti painted by vandals was removed. Sightseeing takes place by the Tourist Information Point in Siewierz.
bibliography:
Antoniewicz M., Zamki na Wyżynie Krakowsko – Częstochowskiej, Kielce 1998.
Ginter A., Pietrzak J., Rok A., Badania archeologiczne na zamku w Siewierzu, województwo śląskie [w:] Badania archeologiczne na Górnym Śląsku i ziemiach pogranicznych w latach 2007-2008, Katowice 2010.
Leksykon zamków w Polsce, red. L.Kajzer, Warszawa 2003.
Rok A., Najstarsza, gotycka forma architektoniczna zamku w Siewierzu. Wstępne omówienie problematyki, „Wiadomości konserwatorskie województwa śląskiego”, 4/2012.
Rok A., Zamek w Siewierzu wczoraj i dziś, Siewierz 2006.
Sypek R., Zamki i obiekty warowne Jury Krakowsko-Częstochowskiej, Warszawa 2003.