Castle in Venice

Poland, Poland

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The Castle in Venice (Wenecja), Poland, located on an isthmus between Biskupińskie and Weneckie Lakes in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, was built in the second half of the 14th century—likely before 1383—by notorious knight Mikołaj Nałęcz of Chomiąża, known as the "Devil of Venice," as a square Gothic fortress (33.5m sides) with a northeastern tower, western residential building, and fortified foregate.

Expanded around 1420-1436 by Gniezno archbishops like Mikołaj Trąba into a regional residence with a second perimeter wall, proto-roundel bastions for artillery, and added chapel, it gained infamy for imprisoning dissenting clergy before ordered demolition in 1479-1480 supplied materials for Żnin.

Well-preserved ground-floor perimeter walls survive as atmospheric ruins near the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, exemplifying early Polish fortification evolution.