Castle in Radom

he city of Radom in its current location was established during the reign of Casimir the Great, who moved to this place a 10th-century settlement that had previously been located a few hundred meters up the Mleczna River. The castle was built as an element of the town fortifications, probably in the final stage of the construction of the town walls. The quadrangle of the complex occupied the south-eastern part of the town and was separated from it by a wall, rampart and moat. The entrance to the castle was guarded by a gate tower, in which the burgrave had his apartment. In addition to the gate tower, the castle buildings included a large house. It had dimensions of 38x10.5 meters and was erected along the city walls, protruding in front of them. The house had two or three floors and had a basement. Initially, 

The southern façade of the castle building, photo by ZeroJeden, V 2000

one tower adjoined the building. There could still be towers within the walls, but due to the lack of iconography from that period, it is difficult to accurately reconstruct the form of the complex.

A frequent guest at the castle was Władysław Jagiełło, and then his successors. Here, in 1401, the Union of Radom and Vilnius was concluded. In 1489, Kazimierz Jagiellończyk accepted the feudal homage of the Teutonic Master Jan von Tieffen in the castle. In 1505, a sejmik was held in the castle with the participation of Alexander Jagiellon, at which the constitution Nihil novi was adopted and the set of laws of chancellor Jan Łaski was approved.

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the castle was enriched with another tower at the great house and a latrine tower, which was erected on the rampart. It is possible that the first one, called the white one, was created from an earlier tower. In addition to the above-mentioned towers, there was also a tower of villains in the north-eastern corner of the perimeter walls. In the years 1510-1515, the expansion 

An attempt to reconstruct the Radom castle according to architect A.Pinno from 1940 [Source]

of the castle was carried out by the castellan of Radom, Crown Treasurer Mikołaj Szydłowiecki, probably under the influence of Sigismund Augustus. The works were probably carried out by the royal builder master Benedict, and the interior decoration could have been the work of the court painter of the Szydłowiecki family - Piotr. The great house was rebuilt into a Renaissance residence. From the side of the courtyard, it was decorated with cloisters, a terrace was added, and the white tower was topped with an attic. During this expansion, a new west wing was also erected, mainly for economic purposes.

Often visited by monarchs, the castle had a rich décor. One of the chambers had a coffered ceiling with gilded roses, there were marble fireplaces and decorative tiled 

photo by ZeroJeden, IV 2002

stoves in the castle. The utility and residential west wing housed a kitchen, pantry and bakery on the ground floor, and a dining room on the first floor, which was connected to the house by a large covered porch. From the documents we also learn that the castle had a bathhouse, gardens and stables for 130 horses.

Minor changes were made before 1567. In 1655, the Swedish king Charles Gustav entered the castle. He received a Polish delegation demanding elections. When the Swedes were driven out of Radom, they devastated the castle and set fire to the town. After these destructions, the starost Gołuchowski was obliged to rebuild.

The last major reconstruction took place in 1787. It was then that the starost Aleksander Potkański lowered the large house by one storey and extended it at the expense of the remains of the destroyed white tower. At the end of the 18th century, the Austrian authorities decided to dismantle the castle towers and the perimeter wall from the town side, and the castle was adapted to the needs of offices, and later the Archive of Town 

photo by ZeroJeden, IV 2002

Records.

In 1863, the neglected last remnant of the castle - the great house - was handed over to the church, which transformed it into a rectory and temporary residence of bishops of Sandomierz.

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