Castle in Opole - Górka

hefirst Opole castle was erected on an island on the Oder River. In 1366, the duchy was divided between brothers - princes Władysław II Opolczyk and Bolesław III. Probably Bolesław's son Jan I Kropidło, later bishop of Kuyavia, began the construction of a new castle around 1382. The castle was built on a limestone hill - the highest hill in the area, next to the Gosławice Gate, being part of the city's defense system. The first mention of the new castle dates back to 1387, when the castle was probably already completed, 

Aerial photo, photo by ZeroJeden, V 2020

and 1391. It was most likely built on the site of an earlier wooden manor house and had a quadrilateral plan with a square tower preserved to this day, which originally had three above-ground storeys and had a basement.

The new castle became the seat of Władysław II, who ruled the Opole part of the divided duchy, while Bolko III's son Bolko IV lived in Ostrówek. Soon, in 1396, as a result of a conflict between Władysław Opolczyk and Jagiełło, the Duke of Opole had to step down from the political arena and hand over power to the sons of Bolko III. For some time, his wife Ofka lived in the upper castle, but later the castle was divided between Bolko IV and Jan Kropidło.

Further information about the castle comes from the beginning of the seventeenth century. In 1615, Opole was engulfed by fire, which also significantly damaged the upper castle, only the tower and stables remained relatively little damaged. The building was not renovated, and the tower was used as a granary from then on. In 1622, one of the rooms was given to Protestants as a temple, and bricks from the demolition carried out 

Plan of the tower and a fragment of the curtain wall according to George Romanov [Source]

from 1637 and part of the castle area were given to local potters to rebuild houses after war damage. Later, the castle area was managed by the Jesuits, and after the dissolution of their order, a school was established here.

In 1844, the neglected tower was restored by raising one storey, and the gable was crowned with a neo-Gothic battlement. At the end of the 19th century, a gymnasium building was added to the tower, and later another wing. In the tower, a bricked-up ogival portal and blendes on both sides have been preserved, which are probably the remains of the entrance gate. A small section of the Gothic defensive wall adjoins the tower.

Due to the lack of systematic research in the castle area, it has not yet been possible to fully reconstruct the plan of medieval buildings.