hile the fifteenth century abounds in mentions of the Rabsztyn castle, the earlier history of the stronghold is difficult to determine. Jan Długosz mentions the castle in Olkusz, built on the initiative of Casimir the Great. Since no other documents about the Olkusz castle have been found, some historians identified this mention with Rabsztyn, but in 2001 in Olkusz itself, during construction works, a fragment of a thick medieval wall with a gate was found, which introduced new doubts.
It is assumed that the first buildings and wooden-earth fortifications were built here at the end of the 13th century, while the castle was built in the 14th century. It occupied only the highest part of the hill on the rock, here there was a high cylindrical tower, and a perimeter wall ran along the edge of the
View from the upper to the lower castle, photo by ZeroJeden, V 2005
rock. The first certain mention comes from 1396, it mentions the chaplain of the castle chapel. The castle was then in the possession of Spytek of Melsztyn, and remained the property of the Melsztyński family until 1441, when it was confiscated for betraying the king and as a dowry of Jadwiga of Książ passed into the hands of Andrzej Tęczyński from the Toporczyk family. In 1442, at the king's request, Andrzej Tęczyński was to strengthen the castle. After Andrzej's death, his son took the surname from the Rabsztyn headquarters. When in 1509 the Rabsztyn line of this family expired, the castle was in the hands of the, who for three generations held the office of starosts of Rabsztyn.
The next starost was Mikołaj Wolski in 1592, and then the Grand Marshal of the Crown Zygmunt Myszkowski. It was probably him who in the early seventeenth century expanded the Rabsztyn fortress into a Renaissance residence, which partially lost its defensive character. At the foot of the upper castle, a lower castle was built with a three-winged palace with two floors, in which there
Ruins of the upper castle, photo by ZeroJeden, V 2005
were 40 rooms. The whole was separated from the rest of the hill by a deep moat, over which a bridge on pillars was thrown from the south. The bridge led to the gatehouse with a basement, the remains of which have survived to this day.
During the Swedish Deluge, the retreating invading troops plundered and destroyed the castle, which was not rebuilt. It was still partially used until the beginning of the nineteenth century. In the second half of the nineteenth century, treasure hunters completed the destruction by blowing up the only preserved part of the castle - the tower and walls of the lower castle.
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ile the fifteenth century abounds in mentions of the Rabsztyn castle, the earlier history of the stronghold is difficult to determine. Jan Długosz mentions the castle in Olkusz, built on the initiative of Casimir the Great. Since no other documents about the Olkusz castle have been found, some historians identified this mention with Rabsztyn, but in 2001 in Olkusz itself, during construction works, a fragment of a thick medieval wall with a gate was found, which introduced new doubts.
