Iłża

Poland, Poland

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Iłża is a historic town in central Poland's Masovian Voivodeship along the Iłżanka River, with roots as a Western Slavic gord from the early Middle Ages that belonged to Kraków's Catholic bishops from the 12th century until 1789. Destroyed twice by Mongol invasions in 1241 and 1260, it received Magdeburg rights around 1294 and saw Bishop Jan Grot build a stone castle circa 1340 on a hill south of the original settlement, later expanded into a Renaissance residence in the 1560s amid thriving crafts like pottery. Positioned on trade routes to Vistula ports, it prospered until the Swedish Deluge (1655–1660) razed the town and castle, with further decline from fires and partitions, though remnants include the castle ruins (with a round 14th-century tower and observation deck), a 1326 parish church remodeled in 1603, 1448 Holy Spirit church, Gothic round tower, town hall, defensive walls, hospital complex, and Jewish cemetery.