Zamek Książęcy w Oławie

Oława, Poland, Poland

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Zamek Książęcy w Oławie is a Renaissance-Baroque castle in Oława, southwestern Poland's Lower Silesian Voivodeship, originally constructed as a Gothic fortress between 1359 and 1398 by Duke Ludwik I of Brzeg-Legnica on a trapezoidal plan with a prominent rectangular stone-brick tower rising about 20 meters.

In 1588, Duke Joachim Frederick commissioned architect Bernard Niuron to rebuild it in Renaissance style, adding residential wings, a helmeted tower, and earth ramparts with four corner bastions for enhanced defense.

Further transformed in the late 17th century under Duke Christian by Italian architects Carlo Rossi and Luca Giovanni into a Baroque residence known as the Princess Luiza Palace, featuring an arcaded loggia, ornate portal, modernized bastions, and formal gardens in place of filled moats, it suffered partial demolition in the 19th century, war damage in 1945, and was rebuilt in 1952-1958 as a residential building on the former courtyard site.