Ogrodzieniec Castle is located in the Kraków-Częstochowa Jura in the village of Podzamcze. It was built between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and still stands proudly on Góra Zamkowa. The ruins of the castle can be visited by taking a walk along the tourist Trail of the Eagles' Nests, which runs through the Lesser Poland and Silesia provinces. It is also worth visiting the castle because the scenes of the famous series "The Witcher" were filmed here! Check out what the history of Ogrodzieniec Castle looks like and find out if there are any… ghosts in this place at night.
The history of Ogrodzieniec Castle - see what it really looked like
Who built the castle and came into the possession of Ogrodzieniec?
A wooden stronghold used to stand in the place of the castle. However, it was probably destroyed by the Tatar invasion in 1241. The brick castle was built by King Casimir the Great, who then leased it to Przedbor from Brzezie. Many historical documents indicate that Przedbór spent a large amount of money on strengthening the castle fortifications. Later, Władysław Jagiełło came into possession of the castle, and then it was taken over by the Włodek (Sulimów) family, who ruled in Ogrodzieniec for almost a hundred years. The castle was sheltered by high rocks, and the entrance to it ran through a narrow gap between them. Therefore, it was a building perfectly composed of the surrounding area, which many eager merchants were fondling about.
Ogrodzieniec was further sold in 1470. It then passed from the Sulim family to the Salomonowicz family. The castle was also looked after by the brothers of Jan Feliks Rzeszowski, who also owned the Ogrodzieniec estate. In the following years, the castle passed through the hands of Jan Pilecki and his son, and later it went to Mikołaj Chełmski. Seweryn Boner and his two sons - Jan and Stanisław - then came into possession of the castle. It is worth adding that Seweryn rebuilt and expanded Ogrodzieniec with an additional wing. It is thanks to him that Ogrodzieniec ceased to be a medieval stronghold and a renaissance castle.
Ogrodzieniec is in the hands of new owners. Castle fire
In 1562, the owner of Ogrodzieniec became Jan Firlej, the son-in-law of Seweryn Boner. A dozen or so years later, Archduke Maksymilian, who was a candidate for the Polish throne, conquered the castle. The Swedish army partially burned the building down in 1655, occupying Ogrodzieniec for almost two years. The castle was then taken care of by Stanisław Warszycki, partially rebuilding the damage done by the Swedish army. Ogrodzieniec later fell into the hands of the Męciński family.
1702 was the time when the army of Charles XII set the castle on fire again. Ogrodzieniec was almost half burnt. Nobody wanted to rebuild it, because it was a very time-consuming and costly job. The castle from the Męciński family was bought by Tomasz Jakliński, who led Ogrodzieniec to total ruin - he was completely unconcerned about the technical condition of the building. The castle went to Ludwik Kozłowski, who did nothing with the ruins. On the contrary. He began to destroy the castle walls in order to obtain good material for the construction of other facilities. He sold the equipment of the castle to Jews. The last owners of Ogrodzieniec were the Wołczyński family.
The facility was nationalized after 1944. Conservation works were carried out to keep the castle in the form of a permanent ruin. The works were carried out in the years 1949-1973. Then, Ogrodzieniec was made available to tourists for sightseeing. When visiting the castle, it is worth taking a look at the market square in Podzamcze, where there is a chapel built of castle elements. Inside, you can find the original remains of the former Ogrodzieniec, such as a cannonball, vault keystone or a Renaissance statue of the Virgin Mary.
Ogrodzieniec Castle - "The Witcher" and castle legends
Ogrodzieniec Castle as the set design for the series "The Witcher"
"The Witcher" was one of the most anticipated Netflix productions in 2019. The serial screening of Andrzej Sapkowski's novel was shot partly in Hungary and the island of La Palma. However, some scenes were also recorded in Poland, at the Ogrodzieniec Castle in Podzamcze. It is not surprising, however, that the creators of the famous series decided to bet on this object.
The ruins of Ogrodzieniec are huge and beautiful, which can be exactly seen in the battle scene for Sodden Hill in "The Witcher". At that time, the castle served as a fortress, being the key to conquering the northern kingdoms. In the series, Ogrodzieniec was therefore a fortress that guarded the narrowest section of the Yaruga from the dawn of time - a river of great strategic importance that blocked the Nilfgaardian troops from further expansion to the north.
Is it true that Ogrodzieniec Castle is haunted?
There are many legends and fantastic stories around Ogrodzieniec. Here are a few of them that testify to the fact that ghosts live in the castle. How much truth is there in them? Everyone has to judge it for themselves on the spot. Preferably after dark.
1. The legend of the black dog
At night, a huge black dog appears to appear at the castle, guarding the facility and clinking with three-meter chains. You can also hear his growling, which effectively drives people away. Stanisław Warszycki - one of the buyers of the castle - was reportedly transformed into a dog. He was kidnapped by devils during his lifetime for his reprehensible behavior. Warszycki loved torture, especially against wives. He was to lash one in public and brick the other alive. For his actions, he was changed into a black dog who wanders around the castle at night and looks after the treasures hidden in it.
2. Olimpia - the White Lady of Ogrodzieniec
Stanisław Boner had a daughter, Olimpia, who was a virgin of exceptional beauty. The girl, however, gave her heart to Stanisław Kmita, whom Boner did not like. They were separated by a huge… religious gulf. Kmit was a Catholic, and Boner a follower of Protestantism. Olimpia, when she was persecuted by her father, gave up her love for Stanisław and gave her hand to another. This one, out of despair, threw himself into the mountain abyss. Boner's daughter could not stand the loss of her beloved, so she also committed suicide - she jumped out of the tower in Ogrodzieniec. Today she wanders around the castle at night, dressed in a white dress, and looks for her beloved Stanisław.
3. The legend of boners
The castle was ruled by two brothers who were very greedy. They were called "bonarki", which was the then term for misers. The more treasures they had, the bigger they became squeamish. To become filthy rich, the brothers hurt a lot of people. One day the boners died on the same day simultaneously. Before their death, however, they managed to ask to be buried in a deep grave with all their valuables gathered. The tomb was to be guarded by knights, who would chase away phantoms stretching out their hands to the brothers with swords dipped in holy water. In the evenings, the ghosts of the knights are said to still fight the wraiths in the castle - and more precisely, the ghosts of all people who have been harmed by greedy brothers.
4. Iron door
When Seweryn Boner was the owner of the castle, he often traveled on business. During this time, his wife was playing with the soldiers. One time she went to pray to the castle chapel to be forgiven for her sins. Suddenly a gale arose and the chapel slammed shut. The iron door was hard to open. When they were finally balanced, Seweryn's wife was found. She was lying dead on the steps in front of the altar. After the funeral, unknown robbers raided the castle. However, they managed to take only the iron door, still lying by the chapel. To this day, they are located in the church in Ogrodzieniec, closing the sacristy there.
5. Well and Anzelm from Józefów
As you can see, most legends definitely concern the Boner family. Anselm from Józefów once lived in the castle, he was doing military service in Ogrodzieniec. He missed his wife a lot, but he was conscientiously following Seweryn Boner's orders. Two years later, he wanted to visit his wife, to which Boner reluctantly agreed. He set a condition for the man - he ordered him to dig a well, and then Anselm could go to his beloved. Unfortunately, it took the man many years to see the water at the bottom of the well. Seweryn, as promised, dismissed the old man from the service. However, he no longer had the strength to return home. He died trying to get to the surface of the well. At the same time, the water from the well disappeared. Legend has it that Anselm from Józefów took her with him in retaliation.
Bibliography:
L. Kajzer, J. Salm, S. Kołodziejski: Lexicon of castles in Poland, Arkady Publishing House, Warsaw 2001
Kidger Rebecca E .: Ghosts. Stories about haunted places and people, Rea Publishing House, Konstancin-Jeziorna 2012
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