Castle in Bartoszyce

he first fortifications in Bartoszyce were the ramparts of a Prussian stronghold in the bend of the Łyna. In 1240, the Teutonic Knights, using the remains of this stronghold, built a wooden and earth castle here, but in 1264 it was captured by Prussian insurgents, and in 1273 it burned down after the Teutonic Knights regained it. The new castle probably already had brick elements. Within its not very extensive walls, a prosecutor subordinate to the komtur in Bałgia held office. Settlements quickly began to grow around the castle, and in 1326 Dietrich von Altenburg granted Bartoszyce the privilege of location. On February 17, 1332, the town was moved to the right bank of the Łyna by Grand Master Luder from Brunswick. In 1440, Bartoszyce joined the Prussian Confederation 

View from the north of the county office building in the 30s of the twentieth century

and although they withdrew from it in 1446, the inhabitants still showed aversion to the Teutonic Order. In 1454, an uprising broke out and in February the castle was destroyed by the insurgents. In November 1460, the town, cut off from aid from Poland, capitulated and surrendered to the Teutonic Order.

The destroyed castle never rose from the ruins in its original form. Later, using the older walls, the seat of the princely starosts was built in its place. In 1902, the seat of the district starosty was moved here from Frydląd. The building burned down at the end of World War II.

Currently, only a forested hill remains on the site of the former castle. Archaeological research has not yet been conducted, and due to the lack of iconographic records, nothing can be said about the appearance of the original castle. In 1684, more than 200 years after the destruction of the castle, Krzysztof Hartknoch made a copperplate engraving depicting a panorama of Bartoszyce with the castle, but it should not be considered a reliable source.