Dunajec river castles

Their history dates back to the period known as the Fragmentation of Poland in the early 12th century, when, according to his will, known as the Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth, the country was divided into several provinces.

The Dunajec river castles were located on the territory of two castellanies, Wojnicz and Nowy Sącz, in the extreme south of the Seniorate Province.

[1] Construction of Trzewlin Castle in Wielka Wieś, Tarnów County began in the early 14th century, and was initiated by the Białon family (Rawa coat of arms), which later changed its last name to Trzewliński.

According to 19th-century historian and ethnographer Żegota Pauli, in 1543 Trzewlin Castle was visited by King Sigismund I the Old, and his wife Bona Sforza, to escape an epidemic.

Trzewlin Castle was located on a hill called Panieńska Gora, on the left bank of the Dunajec, rising 120 meters above the river valley.

The castellan of Kraków, Spicymir (Leliwa coat of arms) started the construction of Melsztyn Castle in 1340.

For 200 years the complex remained in the hands of the powerful noble family of Leliwita Melsztyński (see Spytek of Melsztyn), who in the late 14th century built a Gothic keep, located in the west wing of the castle.

In the 15th century, Melsztyn was one of centres of the Polish Hussite movement, and in 1511, Jan Melsztyński sold it to the castellan of Wiślica, Mikołaj Jordan of Myślenice.

In 1879-85, due to the efforts of Karol Lanckoroński, the castle gained the status of a permanent, protected ruin.

Finally, when the castle lost its military importance it was turned into a prison, which was closed in 1772, after the first partition of Poland.

Some time in the second half of the 16th century, it probably became the hide-out of highwaymen, as it was partially destroyed in 1574 by the owners of Rożnów, due to the “assaults, organized from the castle”.

In 1426, the castle was purchased by one of the most famous Polish knights, Zawisza Czarny, and after his death, it belongdvto his sons.

In the first half of the 16th century, during the Polish Golden Age, Hetman Jan Tarnowski began to reconstruct the fortress at Rożnów.

He planned one of the most effective fortresses in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, guarding the southern border of the nation against the Ottoman Empire, which, after the Battle of Mohács emerged as the dominant state in Southeastern Europe.

[8] This medieval castle was in the village of Zabrzeż, near Nowy Sącz, on the left bank of the Kamienica river, near its confluence with the Dunajec, 84 meters above the riverbed.

In ancient times, this had been a Lusatian Gords settlement, and in the 13th century, a small defensive castle was built.

[9] The ancient castle was built on the northern slope of a steep hill, several meters below its summit, in the immediate vicinity of the Trzy Korony peaks in the Pieniny Mountains.

In 1470–80, during the reign of Casimir IV Jagiellon, the castle was rented to a local nobleman Piotr Komorowski.