Toszek – castle

History

   The castle in Toszek was erected at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries at the place of the castellan hillfort. In 1429 the fortress destroyed the invasion of the Hussites. Its reconstruction was carried out in the second half of the fifteenth century by the prince Przemyslaw of Oświęcim. In the 16th century the castle belonged to the Habsburgs and then to the Rederns. After a fire in 1570 the Rederns converted the castle into a renaissance residence. Another thorough reconstruction was made in the years 1650-1666 by new owners of Toszek, the Colonns. Later, the castle was owned by several other families who had repaired and transformed their residence. The collapse of the mansion contributed to the great fire of 1811. In the years 1957-1963 the castle was partly rebuilt to be used for the seat of cultural institutions.

Architecture

   The stone-built castle was erected on a flattened top of a hill. Perimeter walls from the west and north run along the edges with straight sections, while the eastern and southern they surrounded the courtyard with an bow. The entrance to the castle led from the east, through the bridge over the moat and through the foregate. During the 16th-century reconstruction in the eastern courtyard a residential house was erected, with two corner cylindrical towers. On the east side was formed a outer bailey surrounded by walls and low towers. The old entrance to the castle has also been modernized, as the new gate was erected. In the 17th century, a new residential house and two quadrangular towers were added to the west wall from the ward side. At the northern part of the wall stood the castle stables, built on a projection of an elongated rectangle. The gatehouse was modernized by adding on the sides quadrangular towers to it.

Current state

   Today’s partially rebuilt castle in Toszek looks exactly like the state after the 17th century rebuilding. Today the castle is the seat of the Cultural Center “Castle in Toszek” and is open to the public. The entrance to the Toszek Castle is possible daily between 8.00 and 22.00. The museum is open daily from Tuesday to Friday from 9.00 to 15.15 and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 11.00 to 18.00. On weekends and holidays the tour takes place at full hour.

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bibliography:
Leksykon zamków w Polsce, red. L.Kajzer, Warszawa 2003.