Melsztyn - Melsztyn Castle

State of preservation:		The ruins
Admission:		The entrance to the ruins is free of charge
Parking:		There is no parking lot nearby
Searching difficulty:		Finding the ruins of the Melsztyn castle is very difficult. They are hidden among the trees, on the hilltop, in the interior of the village.
Access difficulty:		You must walk down the dirt road to the ruins, however moving in the castle area requires greater effort
Subjective rating:		Nice ruins

Driving directions:

Driving down the road no 4 from Tarnów to Cracow in the place Wojnicz You have to turn left into the road no 975 towards Zakliczyn. In Zakliczyn turn right into the road no 980 towards Zagrody. After covering 2 km there is a place Melsztyn, in which you should turn right towards Dębno. After covering around 500 m you must look out for a steep asphalt, a very narrow path uphill on the left side of the road. After finding it you need to turn into that one and drive up nearly the very hill as far as the place where by the road, on the left side you will see the sign: "Do ruin 10 min" ("10 min road to the ruins"). Then you have to go down the dirt road in the direction indicated by the sign. The access takes 4 min at the most.
Be careful! If in the middle of searching the narrow, steep path on the left side you would reach Gwoździec, you would be too far. Then you must turn back and turn into the first asphalt lane on the right. It would be that proper one.




Historical outline:

The construction of the Melsztyn Castle in the middle of the XIVth cent. began the castellan of Cracow, Spycimir Leliwita, in the village Charzewice. His descendants who inherited the castle assumed the surname - Melsztyński. In 1511 the castle was sold to Mikołaj Jordan. The next owners of the castle were the Zborowskis, the Tarłowies (over one hundred years) as well as the Lanckorońskis.
In 1771 the stronghold was captured by the confederates of Bar, however these were the Cossacks who contributed to its destruction, setting it on fire. After that incident the castle was not rebuilt anymore, and the local people started to dismantle the walls. Everything that has remained out of the castle up to this day (that are the walls of the tower and the remainders of the walls) we owe to Karol Lanckoroński, who in 1879 was doing his best to save the remainders of the castle, securing them provisionally.


Pictures:




Nearest castles:

Tarnowiec

Dębno

Nowy Wiśnicz

Czchów

Wytrzyszczka

Białawoda

Jeżów (Wilczyska)