Tykocin Castle, Tykocin, Poland

Tykocin Castle, then located on a border area in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was built in 1433 for Lithuanian noble Jonas Goštautas, voivode of Trakai and Vilnius, replacing the original wooden fortress. In the 1560s, upon the death of the last member of the Goštautas family the castle became the property of king Sigismund II Augustus, who expanded it. The construction was supervised by Hiob Bretfus, military engineer and royal architect. During the reign of Sigismund Augustus the structure served as a royal residence with an impressive treasury and library as well as the main arsenal of the crown. In 1611–1632 the castle was rebuilt again and surrounded with bastion fortifications by Krzysztof Wiesiołowski, starosta of Tykocin.

During the 1655 Deluge, the Radziwiłł army occupied the castle. On December 31, 1655, when the castle was besieged by troops of the Tyszowce Confederation, Janusz Radziwiłł, one of the most powerful people in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth considered by some as the traitor, died here. Ultimately, the castle was captured on January 27, 1657.

In the following years the castle and surrounding lands were donated to Stefan Czarniecki in reward for his contribution in the war. The new owner rebuilt the castle after 1698. In November 1705 the meeting between the king Augustus II the Strong and Peter the Great took place here. During this meeting the Order of White Eagle was established by the King of Poland.

In 1734 the castle was destroyed by fire. Since that time, no inhabited building began to fall into disrepair. In 1771 remains of the castle were destroyed by flood and in 1914, during World War I, the material from the remaining walls was used by the German soldiers to build roads.

Based on the preserved plans of the fortress, found in the archives in Saint Petersburg, the residential part of the castle has been restored (west wing in the style of late Gothic). The original castle was built on a plan of a trapezoid with a courtyard and four cylindrical towers at the corners. The complex was surrounded with fortifications – curtains combined four terrestrial inner bastions.

References:

Wikipedia

Castles and fortifications in Poland

Address

Puchalskiego 3, Tykocin, Poland

See all sites in Tykocin

Details

Founded: 1433
Category: Castles and fortifications in Poland

More Information

zamekwtykocinie.pl
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Branicki Palace (27,8 km)

User Reviews

Nadir Zulfugarli (8 months ago)
Great place to stay for a night. The room was super clean and modern. We took breakfast included option and restaurant served amazing breakfast that makes you full for a day. Breakfast had cold and hot plates with vegterian options. Keep that in mind that there are no vegan options. The castle looks amazing and has free parking inside and outside the courtyard. It takes 10 mins of walking to get to the town. Check in was done inside the restaurant. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

Paweł Kowalczyk (9 months ago)
Keeping in mind this place has been rebuilt from scratch, I think it's great. The tour guide was funny and explained the history of the city well. We also saw a stork's nest from above, which would be worth the entry price by itself.

Stephanie Hunter (2 years ago)
As we arrived, my Czech friend exclaimed, “We’re staying in a castle! We’re really staying in a castle!” I said, “What? You didn’t believe me? I told you we were staying in a castle.” He replied, “I just thought you were being American and that it was just some place decorated like a castle.” Tykocin Castle is still being reconstructed, but much of it is already complete. You can see in places the original foundation, and it’s been rebuilt based on actual plans. It really is a castle. We reserved a twin room, and it was perfect for our needs. Simple but clean with plenty of space. My only problem was that there were 6 bottles of shampoo but no hand soap. Oh well, shampoo can also wash hands. Since we were there in October, the castle was quiet with very few guests or staff. It’s also quite rural, so I would never expect huge crowds. We had an excellent dinner at the castle restaurant and loved every dish. There was also a large breakfast that we couldn’t even finish. I will try to return to Tykocin Castle in the future.

Wojciech Sawicki (2 years ago)
Dining and/or staying overnight at a partially reconstructed castle is an amazingly unique experience in itself. Now top it off with superb food and an amazing location by a picturesque river and a wondrous historical town, and you get something truly magical.

Milica J. (2 years ago)
Lovely but we didn't go inside because they had no information in English and they only have a guide who speaks Polish. In order to find out anything about the castle, you need to book a guide in advice. It's a shame, it is a beautiful castle.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

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Tykocin Castle