Castle in Bobolice

oth the Bobolice Castle and its twin Mirow Castle located on the opposite end of the rocky ridge captivate with their picturesqueness and beauty. You can wander around the area for hours admiring these amazing two strongholds. Both castles were built during the reign of Casimir the Great and, together with many other defensive structures in the area of ​​the current Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, were to guard the border between Lesser Poland and Silesia.

The Bobolice Castle was built on an irregular plan adapted to the shape of the limestone rock. In the upper part there was a cylindrical tower. According to tradition, there were robbers' headquarters here, which can be associated with the rule of Władysław Opolczyk, who placed a foreign crew in the castle. They robbed the local 

Woodcut based on Fabijański's drawing, Tygodnik Illustrowany 1863 from the collection of the Library of the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences

population and passing merchants.

In the years 1370-1396 the castle was in the hands of Władysław Opolczyk, and was restored to the kingdom by Władysław Jagiełło. It was received from the king by the distinguished Kreza family, who owned it for almost 200 years. In 1587 it was captured by the troops of Archduke Maksymilian and then recaptured by Zamoyski's troops. The castle fell into the hands of the Myszkowskis, and then the Męcińskis. In the 17th century it failed to resist the Swedish troops during the Deluge, after which it was abandoned and fell into ruin. Jan Sobieski, coming to the aid of Vienna, stopped in Bobolice, but had to spend the night in tents. Although attempts were made to rebuild it later, they were abandoned at the end of the 18th century. After World War II, the walls were secured as a permanent ruin. Only the remains of the walls and tower, as well as legends and stories, as befits such interesting ruins, have survived to this day.

In fifteenth-century chronicles, it was noted that one of the Kreza family members kidnapped and held his niece in Bobolice Castle. The story of the White Lady appearing on the walls of the stronghold 

photo by ZeroJeden, VI 2009

probably arose from this source.

In the nineteenth century, a huge treasure was found in the dungeons of the round castle . Local residents say that not all the gold was found, that the corridors connecting the two castles and the tunnel leading from the Bobolice underground to nearby Ogorzelnik have still not been discovered.