Kliczków Castle was founded as a border fortress at the river Kwisa by Duke Bolko I of Jawor in 1297. In 1391, it fell into the hands of the Rechenberg family from Saxony, who held it for almost 300 years. The main building was built in 1585 in the Renaissance style.
After several more changes of ownership, it came to John Christian, Count of Solms-Baruth in 1767. In 1810, the grand ballroom in Empire style was created. In 1881, the architects Heinrich Joseph Kayser and Karl von Großheim from Berlin began an expansion of the castle. They mixed styles: English Gothic architecture with Italian Renaissance and French mannerism. An 80-acre English country garden was designed at the same time by Eduard Petzold. In 1906, Emperor Wilhelm II stayed at the castle while he was hunting in the area.
In 1920, it was inherited by Frederick of Solms-Baruth. During the Nazi period, he was engaged in resistance against National Socialism in the Kreisau Circle. He was arrested after the failed attempt on Hitler's life and his property was confiscated.
The castle survived the Second World War virtually unscathed, but the interior was looted by Soviet troops. In 1949, a fire destroyed the depot and the servants' quarters. In the 1950s, the castle was in the care of the local forest authority, which neglected the interior and ruined the stucco and the stoves. The former owner's horse cemetery was retained.
In 1971, the Wrocław University of Technology acquired the castle and tried in vain to save it. After the fall of Communism, a commercial company from Wrocław purchased the castle and developed it into a luxurious conference and recreation center that was opened in 1999.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.