Castle in Barciany

riginally, there was a Prussian stronghold here, which after being conquered by the Teutonic Knights at the end of the 13th century and destroyed by the Prussians in 1320 was rebuilt after 1325. In the years 1377-1390, the Teutonic Knights built a brick castle under the direction of "Master Winricus". It was built on a hill, surrounded by lakes and marshes from the west and south, and its defenses were reinforced by a wide and deep moat from the north and east. It had a quadrangular plan, had two , one of which protruded to the eastern foreground, defending access to the walls. There was probably a bailey on the eastern side as well. The whole was built of brick on a stone foundation. The castle is laid out on an almost square base measuring 55x58 meters with a courtyard in the middle. 

The southern and eastern wings of the castle in Barciany in the photo from 1900-1920

Three sides of the courtyard are closed by multi-storey wings, and a high wall rises from the south. The oldest wing, built from 1325 to the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, is the eastern wing. At its corners there are towers reaching two-thirds of the current height of the wings. The western wing was probably originally built as a defensive wall in the mid-14th century. Around 1585 it was expanded and transformed into a warehouse and granary.

The first reconstruction was carried out on the orders of the Grand Master Winrych von Kniprode. Presumably the eastern wing was rebuilt and raised at that time, and the northern wing was expanded towards the courtyard and raised. Another reconstruction carried out after 1385 introduced a defensive storey. The so-called fire tower was also built at that time, extending significantly beyond the walls.

Originally, the castle was the seat of the komtur, later of the Teutonic bailiffs. The castle fulfilled military functions as a barracks for knights and a food warehouse. Inventories prepared at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries mention 

Aerial photo, photo by ZeroJeden, IX 2021

the following castle rooms: a chapel, a refectory, a kitchen, a brewery and a stable.

Destroyed in 1455 during the Thirty Years' War, it was quickly rebuilt. Despite this, it slowly lost its military significance, becoming an economic and trade centre and a food warehouse. In the 16th century, only the name still testifies to the castle's defensive capabilities.

The castle's interior was rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1915, the building burned down and was rebuilt only two years later. The eastern wing and the remains of the northern wing have survived to this day. After the war, the renovated castle belonged to the State Agricultural Farm, then it was put up for sale by the Agricultural Agency of the State Treasury.

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