Castle in Szczecin

n the left bank of the Oder there is a castle hill, on which a strong stronghold certainly existed in the 11th century. In 1107, Bolesław Krzywousty tried to conquer it, this attempt failed, and another attempt in the winter of 1119 brought results. The stronghold existed until 1243, when prince Barnim I committed himself to the townspeople of Szczecin to demolish the ramparts, and kept only the manor for himself.

About 100 years later, Duke Barnim III tried to erect a new defensive residence. Initially, the townspeople opposed it, but eventually the dispute was won by the prince and in 1346 the Steinhaus was erected on the site of the old stronghold - a brick building about 30 meters long, 10 meters wide and 8 meters high. To the west of the building was the chapel of St. Otto, surrounded by a wall. The second wall, almost 4 meters high, surrounded the entire complex. Soon after, the chapel was expanded, it is possible that in parallel with this expansion, a second court building was erected in the place of the current southern wing, of which vaulted cellars have been preserved.

In 1430, prince Casimir VI, due to constant conflicts with the townspeople, decided to strengthen the castle. However, just four years later, when he died, he ordered the fortifications to be dismantled. In 1491, Anna Jagiellon stayed in the castle, who married 

E. Sanne's lithograph from 1846

the Duke of Szczecin, Bogusław X. This prince modernized the southern wing and perhaps both towers at this wing. When in 1530 a fire engulfed the burgher buildings west of the castle, the southern wing also suffered. Barnim XI, son of Bogusław, in 1538, renovating the buildings, raised the New House by one storey and added octagonal parts of the towers. The southern highest wing thus obtained a rare height of 30 meters, had 4 storeys, and its length was 52 meters. From the times of Duke Bogusław X began the years of splendor of the castle - the prince was an ambitious ruler, he was brought up in Kraków by Długosz, he was married to the daughter of a Polish king, and he himself united Western Pomerania. He brought back valuable souvenirs from his long journeys. His son, in addition to modernizing the southern wing, also erected the eastern wing. After the fire of 1551, the construction work was continued and completed in 1569.

Barnim XI's successor was John Frederick. Two years after the death of his predecessor, he began construction works to complete the Renaissance reconstruction initiated by Barnim. Just two years later, despite the fire of 1576, the reconstruction is completed. The construction works were supervised by the Italians - either Antonius Wilhelm, as reported at the beginning of the 17th century by Joachim von Wedel and Friederborn, or Antonio Gugliemo according to 19th-century studies.

By the end of the 16th century, the castle church, Steinhaus and the buildings on the west side of the castle area were demolished, while in their place the northern 

Photo from the interwar period

and western wings were erected. With the exception of the southern wing, the others were now of equal height of three storeys and were topped with one line of attic. From the side of the spacious courtyard with sides over 50 meters, cloisters ran along the wings. The castle was constantly enriched with new works of art. In the years 1616-1619, a separate building was erected along the west wing for the purpose of a library and museum to house the collections collected at that time by Philip II, the brother of the last prince.

During the Swedish-German conflict, Duke Bogusław XIV sided with the Swedes. When he died as the last male representative of the Griffins in 1637 - the castle became the residence of the governor Bjelke. The duchy fell, and subsequent owners ceased to care about the castle. Subsequent reconstructions blurred the artistic value of Renaissance details. In 1648, Western Pomerania was divided as a result of negotiations between the Swedes and Brandenburg, and Szczecin was kept by the Swedes.

During the invasion of Poland, the Swedes were attacked in Szczecin by the Brandenburg army, taking advantage of their weakening. It is possible that the castle was damaged at that time, but the greatest damage from the period of fights with the Swedes was suffered by the castle and the town in 1677. The castle was shelled by artillery, as a result of which the northern wing was ruined, and the others required a thorough renovation. The security works undertaken were probably not completed.

When the Brandenburgers were forced to withdraw from the castle, Szczecin 

The castle from the south before 1575 according to a drawing from 1607

fell into Swedish hands again. The new owners carried out the necessary work and brought in the best architect to develop the reconstruction plans. The bold plans of Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, who planned to demolish some of the buildings and completely rebuild the rest, fortunately did not come to fruition. Limited funds meant that only Tessin's student Johan Frederik Eosander Gothe was able to undertake the renovation, which was limited to the necessary work. However, the castle continued to deteriorate, used mainly by the army.

In 1705, due to the planned designation of the castle for the residence of Queen Catherine, wife of Stanisław Leszczyński, the castle was properly equipped and decorated, but no construction works were undertaken. In 1713, the castle was besieged by the army of the coalition united against the Swedes. The artillery fire again severely strained the walls of the building. In 1720, the town with the castle was within the borders of Prussia.

The buildings have undergone construction works. While the interiors were slightly rebuilt, the façades changed completely. The entrance 

The castle from the north-east around 1790 [Source]

gate in the courtyard was demolished, the museum wing of Philip II was rebuilt, and the castle roofs were rebuilt. The works were completed in 1736. Over the next few decades, the castle suffered several times as a result of war riots. In 1806, Napoleon's army entered the castle, and after his defeat, in 1813, Szczecin returned to Prussian hands. During the 19th century, the castle was gradually rebuilt again. The court, administrative offices and archives were located here.

It was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that people began to think about restoring the castle to its former glory. In the years 1925-1926, renovation and cleaning works were carried out, but the plans were slowly interrupted by the Second World War. In 1944, the castle was bombed, only damaged walls remained of the castle, most of the vaults collapsed.

Renovation works began as early as 1947, but they did not gain momentum until ten years later. Currently, the completely rebuilt castle has become the cultural center of the city, including a museum.

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