Pieskowa Skała

State of preservation:		The castle has remained as the whole
Admission:		The entrance beyond the walls is free of charge, however, as to enter the bailey you have to settle a very high charge
Parking:		At the foot of the castle there are paid parking lots
Searching difficulty:		The building is observable from a distance so its finding is very easy
Access difficulty:		As to reach the castle you must walk up the stairs up the high rock so-called Dorotka (Dorothy)
Subjective rating:		Nice castle

Driving directions:

Driving down the road no 794 from Cracow to Wolbrom, after covering 20 km you reach Skała. There in the market square you need to turn left toward Ojców. After driving downhill and arriving in the crossroads, in the shape of the letter Y, you must turn right toward Sułoszowa. Then drive down the main road all the time till You see the castle on the hill.


Historical outline:

The castle in Pieskowa Skała was founded by Casimir III the Great, which attested Jan Długosz in his chronicles. Even though there is already a reference to the castle in Pieskowa Skała from 1315, it is believed to concern the castle on the hill Kocica, which is located in the south part of the village Sułoszowa.
The original history of the castle is not accurately known. It is a well-known fact only that Louis I of Hungary granted the castle (presumably to Piotr Szafraniec of Starykoń coat of arms. While in 1422 Władysław II Jagiełło officially handed over the stronghold to the Szafraniecs, who ruled over it until the beginning of the XVIIth cent. Later on the castle was changing hands frequently and was being rebuilt. In 1655 and in 1702 the Swedes devastated the building, and in 1718 the fire consumed it almost entirely. After those cataclysms the castle was rebuilt by Hieronim Wielopolski, however the construction works changed its appearance substantially. In the years of 1850 and 1863 the next fires descended upon the stronghold. In spite of procedures of the consecutive owner, Sobiesław Mieroszewski, who rebuilt the castle, it started deteriorating. In 1902 the monument was turned over to joint-stock company and was designated for a boarding house. The reconstruction of the castle after the World War II brought out the stronghold from the destructions, however the lack of research in that period totally ruined the chances of getting to know about a medieval history of that site.




Pictures:




Nearest castles:

Smoleń

Bydlin

Rabsztyn

Ojców

Rudno

Kraków

Kraków