Złocieniec

Poland, Poland

---

Złocieniec, a town in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, along the Drawa River, features ruins of a medieval knight's castle constructed in the early 14th century by Ludolf I von Wedel after receiving the land from Brandenburg's margrave in 1313, initially as a square Gothic fortress with brick walls in monk bond pattern up to 2.1 meters thick.

Burned by Teutonic Knights in 1389 in retaliation against co-owner Eckhard von dem Wolde and later rebuilt, it passed through Polish hands under Casimir the Great in 1365 before Teutonic control until 1431, then owned by the Borek family around 1450 who added a southwestern wing and modernized it into a Renaissance residence by the 16th century with a tower and vaulted ceilings.

Further altered into a Baroque palace in the 18th century and eclectically rebuilt in 1898-1906, it was destroyed in World War II and demolished in 1976, leaving only foundation fragments, moat traces, and cultural heritage status.