Ujazd (Świętokrzyskie Province) - Krzyżtopór Castle

State of preservation:		Picturesque ruins
Admission:		The entrance to the area of the ruins is paid, however the ticket is very cheap
Parking:		Next to the castle there is a free parking lot
Searching difficulty:		The castle stands by the main road, and in addition from the distance of 15 km the signposts lead up to there, therefore nobody ought to have any trouble with its finding
Access difficulty:		The access to the castle and its sightseeing does not require a robust health. Only the wander in the dungeons is more difficult.
Subjective rating:		This is what tigers like the best! For the moderate price you receive 3-4 hours of totally free amusement. As that much time is needed to look into every nook of the castle.

Driving directions:

Driving down the road no 79 from Sandomierz to Cracow, after covering 16 km, in Łoniowo, you need to turn right, into the road no 9 to Lipnik. Having covered the next 13 km, in Klimontów, you must turn left into the road no 758 towards Iwaniska. After the next 13 km you arrive in Ujazd, where it is enough to follow the signposts to the castle.


Historical outline:

The castle in Ujazd arose in the XVIIth cent. and was one of the biggest and most magnificent lordly castles in Poland. It is the typical example of so called 'palazzo in fortezza', that is the representative residence adjusted to defense. In spite of numerous explorations of the castle, which ended up with publications, till now it has not been exactly known when Krzysztof Ossoliński began building the castle in Ujazd.
Krzysztof Ossoliński received the village from his father Zbigniew in 1619, while the first document confirming the existence of the residence appeared in 1627 in the area of the castle indeed. However, the construction probably lasted till 1644 and was to soak up 30 million zlotys (of the XVIIth century of course). After the death of Krzysztof Ossoliński, a year after completing the building, the castle came into his son's hands, Krzysztof Baldwin, who in turn perished in the battle of Zborów in 1649. Then the families of the Denhoff and the Kalinowskis ruled the castle. In 1655 the castle was taken by the Swedes and stayed in it till 1657. Destructions made by them caused that the castle was not used till 1720, when in its best preserved part the Morsztynowies took up residence, and after them the Pacowies. These last ones carried out a not large renovation of the building, and Michał Jan Pac rendered the right wing of the castle available to the confederates of Bar. Latter battles contributed to further destructions of the castle and its last resident was Stanisław Sołtyk in the years of 1782-1787. In the World War II's time the castle suffered further destructions, which could be partially repaired in 1971 from the fund of the Province Monument Conservator. In 1980 the Department of Defense gained funds for the complex reconstruction of the castle with the intention of designating it for the Department of Defense's summer resort. Martial law interrupted the investments. Later they were never resumed.
The castle Krzyżtopór got its name from two symbols sculpted at the sides of the entrance gate (fig. no 1). The cross denoted that the founder of the castle was an ardent catholic, whereas the ax is the Ossolińskis’ coat of arms. Moreover, the castle is built on the basis of the calendar. It possesses 4 towers, which correspond to the seasons, has 12 large halls, so that is as many as there are months, 52 rooms, that is the number of weeks in the year and 365 windows, which correspond to particular days.




Pictures:




Nearest castles:

Międzygórz

Kurozwęki

Szydłów (Świętokrzyskie Province)