Castle in Sławków

he first mention of the castle in Sławków comes from around 1289. Henry IV Probus, during his expedition to Kraków, occupies the castles in Sławków and Pieskowa Skała. These castles were given by the prince to the burgrave Henry of Woszów. In 1291, both castles were given to the King of Bohemia, Wenceslaus II, as a fief.

During this period, the castle and the town owned by the bishop of Kraków, Jan Muskata became the main support for the Czechs in the alley for the throne of Kraków 

photo by ZeroJeden, VI 2000

with prince Władysław I the Elbow-high.

In 1309, the castle was in the hands of Władysław I the Elbow-high. In 1327, the castle was occupied by the Czech army of John of Luxembourg.

The intervention of King Charles Robert of Hungary, an ally of Łokietek, caused the withdrawal of Czech troops. Pope John XXII in 1328 ordered the withdrawal of Hungarian troops from Sławków.

Another papal intervention caused that the castle and the town were returned to its owners, bishops of Kraków.

In 1337, the bishop of Kraków, Jan Grot, resided in the castle. In 1433-1434 two Hussite invasions caused damage to the castle.

In 1455, the castle was destroyed by mercenary troops of the Moravian Jerzy Stosz from Olbrachtowice and Mikołaj Świeborowski.

In the 16th century, on the west side, apart from the moat, a new manor house of bishops of Kraków was built. The old castle was completely ruined. Its relics were uncovered as a result of archaeological work in the years 1982-1994.

The original castle built by the bishop of Kraków Paul of Przymankowo in the second half of the 13th century (between 1280 and 1283) had a plan of an irregular rectangle with dimensions of approximately 120 x 100 m. The thick perimeter walls were reinforced with half towers. However, the castle was not completed. One of the half towers (eastern) was turned into a residential and defensive tower (second half of the 13th century), which was surrounded by a seven-meter moat and a fence. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, during the times of bishop Muskata, the castle was expanded by a staircase, added to the tower 

View from the south-west, photo by ZeroJeden, VI 2000

and a gatehouse. The whole was surrounded by an earth rampart, covering the original walls.

To this day, the exemplarily preserved walls of the ground floor of the residential tower have been preserved, along with a secret passage, the so-called tour.

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