Bolków Castle

Bolków, Poland, Poland

---

Bolków Castle in Bolków, Poland, is a Gothic fortress built in the late 13th century by Duke Bolesław II the Horned on a hill above the Nysa Szalona River, first documented in 1277 and expanded by Bolko I the Strict with a distinctive wedge-shaped tower designed to deflect projectiles. Further developed in the 14th century under princes Bernard and Bolko II the Small, it connected to town walls and served as a treasury guarding mountain passes, before Renaissance renovations in 1530-1540 by Italian architect Jakub Parr added bastions, embrasures, and courtyards for artillery defense under Wrocław Bishop Jakub von Salza. Damaged in the Thirty Years' War by Swedish forces in 1640-1646, it later housed Cistercians from 1703, saw 19th-century renovations, and now stands as a 7600 m² ruin open to visitors with panoramic views.