Castle in Janowiec

he first mention of Janowiec Castle comes from the location privilege of Zygmunt Stary from 1537. Bastejowe was built by Piotr Firlej of the Lewart coat of arms in the years 1526-1537, probably on the site of earlier fortifications. From the beginning of its existence, the stronghold covered the same area as today, only in later times the tower was replaced with more extensive servants' buildings. The shape of Firlej Castle adapted to the terrain conditions, stretched along the headland of the hill, its front faces the moat separating it from the rest of the hill. On the other sides it was protected by steep slopes. On the side of the moat the castle was fortified most strongly - on the northern side there was a large bastion, the gate passage was located in a tower gate building fulfilling 

Aerial photo, photo by ZeroJeden, X 2018

residential and defensive functions, and on the southern side there was a smaller bastille. Halfway along the northern and southern walls there were two more residential and defensive towers. The layout narrowed further west and ended with a small building in the south-western corner. This part of the castle from the large southern and northern towers westwards was probably of an economic nature. The main building material used was local stone, but here and there bricks were used to finish the walls. After Piotr Firlej's death, the castle passed to his son Andrzej, becoming his only seat. He made major changes to the stronghold, adapting it to serve as a residence. The expansion works, which began in 1565, were entrusted to one of the most outstanding architects active in Poland during the Renaissance, Santi Gucci. The castle was divided into a utility and residential part by a wall that connected the previous northern tower with the southern one, providing communication between the new buildings. Two palace wings were built - one from the northern tower to the large bastion in the north-eastern corner, 

photo by JAPCOK, IV 2002

the other from the southern tower to the gate building. From the courtyard side, the southern wing had an arcades, the windows facing outwards were vaulted. Both new wings were topped with an attic from the outside. After Andrzej Firlej's death in 1585, the castle was briefly resided by the Dulski family of the Przegonia coat of arms. After them, it passed into the hands of the Tarłos. They built subsequent wings, leaving the wall only on the northern side of the smaller courtyard. Between the gate building and the bastion, the eastern wing was built, which also included the bastion itself. On the courtyard side, this wing had pillared cloisters, and on the moat side, window openings with Renaissance frames and simple painted decoration depicting soldiers on foot. From the southern tower to the western end of the complex, the Tarłos built an extension of the southern wing from Andrzej Firlej's times, and to maintain a uniform appearance of this elevation, they eliminated the arched window frames of the Firlej palace. In the south-eastern and south-western 

Janowiec Castle in a watercolor by Napoleon Orda from before 1883

corners of the castle, in place of the earlier baszta and building, they built round towers. The place of the previous utility part was transformed into a representative palace, so the northern tower was replaced with a servants' building extending further beyond the walls. In 1654, the castle became the property of the Lubomirski family. Around 1664, they brought Tylman van Gameren to Janowiec, who designed a chapel for them, built by the wall separating the two castle courtyards. In 1783, Mikołaj Piaskowski of the Junosza coat of arms bought the castle from the Lubomirski family and resided there until his death in 1803. This was the end of the glory days of the Janowiec residence. The castle was abandoned and began to fall into disrepair, the subsequent owners of Janowiec considered that the costs of maintaining such a large complex were too high. The castle served as a source of building materials until 1928. It was then purchased by Leon Kozłowski, who began renovating the walls before the Second World War. Unfortunately, the destruction at the end of the war wasted the renovation 

Janowiec Castle, watercolour by Teodor Chrząński, 'Kazimierz Stronczyński's descriptions and views of monuments in the Kingdom of Poland (1844-1855)'

work that had barely begun. Leon Kozłowski remained the owner of the castle during the Polish People's Republic, but he abandoned attempts to rebuild it. In 1975, he sold the castle to the Kazimierz Dolny Museum. In 1976, work began to secure the ruin from further damage, which lasted until the 1990s. In 1993, it was decided to rebuild some of the wings and create a hotel, café, museum, and cultural center there.