egnica has been one of the most important settlement centers of Silesia since the beginning of its existence. Probably already in the eighth century there was a settlement here, the importance of which increased over the centuries. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, Henry the Bearded erected a brick castle on the site of the hillfort, which is considered one of the first castles in Poland. It is also likely that the construction was initiated by Henry's father, Bolesław the Tall.
During the reign of Bolesław the Tall a palace building could have been erected in the southern part of the earlier hillfort, along the ramparts. It was an impressive building with dimensions of about 16x61 meters and three floors. Other elements of the castle should be attributed to Henry.
The castle on a postcard from 1934
He replaced the ramparts of the stronghold with walls, along which the palace of Bolesław the Tall was located. Erected on a vast low hill, the castle consisted of two parts, which retained the layout of the earlier hillfort and outer bailey, the whole was defended by three towers. More or less on the extension of the palace axis on both sides of it, in the corners of the perimeter wall, there were two round towers, the third, square, was located in the northern section of the walls. The south-western tower, called the tower of St. Hedwig, defended the entrance gate originally placed next to it. It was 13 meters high, in the lower part there was a prison dungeon, and the upper part was probably residential, because it is equipped with a fireplace, seats and painting decorations. The larger south-eastern tower, called St. Peter's Tower, could also serve as a prison in the underground storey. It had a diameter of 10 meters. In the castle courtyard stood the chapel of St. Benedict, which was erected between 1220 and 1230. The upper part of the chapel was connected with the prince's palace by a porch.
In 1241, the castle resisted the Tatar invasion. They defeated the Polish troops, which came out at the start in the field, but abandoned the siege after a few days.
The castle soon became the main seat of the Dukes of Legnica and Brzeg. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, Louis II rebuilt the stronghold, and hired a stonemason near Paris to do the work. The painting décor in the tower of St. Hedwig comes from the period of this reconstruction - Renaissance wall paintings depict the Garden of Eden and the great people of
Cross-section of the tower according to F.Pfeiffer, taken from 'Silesian Castles' [Source]
antiquity - Alexander of Macedon, King David and Goliath. Subsequent reconstructions took place during the fifteenth century, but their scope is unknown. In the first half of the 16th century, the Duke of Brzeg, Frederick II, again carried out construction works. He surrounded the castle with an additional ring of fortifications with low towers and moat. In the final stage of this expansion in 1532, a new representative castle gate was built. In the seventeenth century, George Rudolf rebuilt the eastern and southern wings and erected a clock tower in 1621 at the junction of two castle parts. Around 1660, on the site of the thirteenth-century tower, called Lubinska, a new gate was built, which took over the name after the tower. This gate was additionally defended by a bastion.
After the death of the last Piast prince George William in 1675, the duchy fell into the possession of the Habsburgs.
In 1711, the castle burned down, another fire took place in 1835. After that, the castle was rebuilt, and the work was carried out under the supervision of architect Karol Friedrich Schinkel. Also during World War II, the castle did not resist the damage and burned down in 1945. After the reconstruction, it was intended for educational purposes and offices.
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gnica has been one of the most important settlement centers of Silesia since the beginning of its existence. Probably already in the eighth century there was a settlement here, the importance of which increased over the centuries. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, Henry the Bearded erected a brick castle on the site of the hillfort, which is considered one of the first castles in Poland. It is also likely that the construction was initiated by Henry's father, Bolesław the Tall.
