Nowy Wiśnicz Castle, Nowy Wiśnicz, Poland

Nowy Wiśnicz Castle was raised by Jan Kmita in the second half of the fourteenth century. The castle was built in the Baroque architectural style with Renaissance elements. The castle was built on the plan of the quadrilateral with the inner courtyard. The castle has four towers, with one in each corner. The castle is surrounded by bastion fortifications and the main gate from the early 17th century.

In the 1590s and 1610s, it had a four-wing structure, three towers and fortifications surrounding the castle with two gates. After the year 1516, Piotr Kmita expanded the castle. After his death in 1553, the castle came into ownership of the Barzów in 1566, which ceded ownership rights of the castle to the Stadnickis. In 1593 Sebastian Lubomirski bought the castle. In between the years of 1615 to 1621, Sebastian Lubomirski's son Stanisław Lubomirski undertook the expansion of the castle. The architect Maciej Trapola drew up the project of the Baroque reconstruction and bastion fortifications. During the Deluge the Swedes looted the castle and destroyed the castle. After Sweden was defeated by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the castle was seeded to the Lubomirskich, which carried out restoration works which have not been completed.

After the first half of the eighteenth century, the castle became the property of the Sanguszko princely family, later the Potocki family, and the House of Zamoyski. After the Third Partition of Poland, the castle started falling into decline, and in 1831 the castle was destroyed by a fire and left abandoned. In the year of 1901, the castle was bought by Professor Maurycy Straszewski of the Lubomirski Ancestral Federation which had commenced the renovation the castle. From 1928, Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz supervised renovation, however further renovation was stopped due to the outbreak of World War II. After World War II, the castle was seized by the state, and from the year of 1949, renovation was conducted by Alfred Majewski, which was to restore the castle to its former structure.

Castles and fortifications in Poland

User Reviews

Adrian Post (17 months ago)
Super audio equipment and English audio guide. Interesting and medium impressive (I've done castles and palaces worldwide). Certainly worth it if you're in this end of Poland.

Maria Losik (2 years ago)
Wonderful! Not too crowded even during the weekend. Only 40-mins drive from Krakow. Audio guide is included in the ticket price. The tour is 1 hour long. Perfect for not getting bored. There’s also a restaurant (though not a cheap one).

* Zeeby (2 years ago)
A beautiful, renaissance castle built in the 14th century by the Kmita family. The later owners of the castle were mighty magnate families, including the Lubomirski family. The castle fell into complete ruin after a huge fire in 1831. Due to the fire and the fact that the Swedes took away 150 carts with the castle goods in the 17th century, the interior of the castle, unfortunately, does not have much to offer. The castle was carefully rebuilt after WWII. Within the castle walls there is a cafe and a toilet, and a free car park is located right next to the entrance gate.

Alon Blum (3 years ago)
A very nice castle, open for visitors through guided tours. A few interesting, but small, exhibitions of kitchen tools, cloths, and torture tools (down at the basement level, bought as an extra tour). There is also some VR experience, which we didn't have time to try. The cakes in the cafeteria were surprisingly good! You should reserve about 2 hours for the experience. Recommended if you are in the area.

Dragan Petrovic (4 years ago)
Krakow countryside castle. Situated 50km from Krakow. The castle had been through a lot during the existence and is still medieval. Inside and outside. The main reason is that just recently has back to the owners. Not many, but beautiful and interesting frescoes. Very nice and modern portraits. The walls are still to be done. Heavy breathing inside can drag you straight to the medieval times. If you have a half day to fill, worth to pay a visit.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright stahli36

Historic Site of the week

Celje Castle

Celje Castle was once the largest fortification on Slovenian territory. The first fortified building on the site (a Romanesque palace) was built in the first half of the 13th century by the Counts of Heunburg from Carinthia on the stony outcrop on the western side of the ridge where the castle stands. It had five sides, or four plus the southern side, which was a natural defence. The first written records of the castle date back to between 1125 and 1137; it was probably built by Count Gunter. In the western section of the castle, there was a building with several floors. Remains of the walls of this palatium have survived. In the eastern section, there was an enclosed courtyard with large water reservoirs. The eastern wall, which protects the castle from its most exposed side, was around three metres thicker than the rest of the curtain wall. The wall was topped with a parapet and protected walkway.

Nowy Wiśnicz Castle

Address

Details

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Celje Castle