Sobków – defensive court

History

   Stanislaw Sobek from Sulejów, starost of the Little Poland, and supremus thesaurarius was the founder of the town  and fortress in the settlement originally called Nida Ryterska. In 1563 king Zygmunt August yielded location privilege, the castle itself was erected in 1560-1570, probably on the site of an older building.
   The next owners of Sobków were the Drohojewscy coat of arms of Korczak, who in the first half of the seventeenth century modernized the fortifications of the court. In 1668 they sold Sobków to Jan Wielopolski coat of arms Starykoń. He began erecting an impressive residential building in the middle of the courtyard, but this construction was probably not completed when in 1683 Sobków was sold to the Sarbiewski Prawdzic family. They still lived in buildings from the 16th century. They also did not complete the construction of the central palace.
   After 1692, Sobków became the property of the Myszkowski family of the Jastrzębiec coat of arms, and the next owner of Sobków was in the years 1725-1732 bishop Konstanty Felicjan Szaniawski, who transformed the interiors. The palace was expanded twice in the second half of the 18th century by Anna Szaniawska, and later by Konstanty Felicjan Szaniawski. During this second reconstruction, a gate was pierced in the oldest building, into which the portal of the previous gate in the southern wall was inserted. From the nineteenth century, the gradual decline of the fortifications began, which subsequent owners did not care about. During World War I, the court and especially the central palace were destroyed.

Architecture

   The perimeter walls of the court had the shape of an irregular, extensive rectangle measuring 129×85 meters with four-sided, two-story towers in the corners. Initially, there was only the southern section of the walls with two towers. The original stone residential building was included in this section of the wall near the south-west tower. Closer to the eastern tower there was an entrance gate with a gate portal pierced through the wall. Shortly after, a northern section of the walls was erected with a residential building in its western part. A loggia was built in the newly erected north-east tower. Within the walls there was an extensive courtyard, and economic buildings adjoined the inner faces of walls.

Current state

   At present the renovated, well-kept court is owned by a private owner and in buildings commercial activities are carried out. In the former economic buildings there is a restaurant, guest rooms, banquet halls and exhibitions of carriages and historical objects. On site there is a riding school, knights tournaments and numerous outdoor events. Interested in a detailed plan of events and attractions, check out the latest information on the official website here.

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bibliography:
Leksykon zamków w Polsce, red. L.Kajzer, Warszawa 2003.
Webpage zamki.pl, Fortalicja w Sobkowie.