The building history originates in 1346, when Duke Barnim III began the construction of the ducal housing complex, and continues to 1428, when, under the rule of Casimir V, it was expanded, forming the castle.

[2] Between 1573 and 1582 the castle was rebuilt again, this time in the mannerist style for Duke John Frederick by Italian stonemasons according to design by Wilhelm Zachariasz Italus.

[6] Polish conservators maintain that these modifications during Prussian rule in the 19th century were barbaric,[6] devastating the many Renaissance elements in the castle (arcades, attics, vaulting).

The castle was seen as a point of contact with the lost Slavic past of Szczecin, supporting and legitimizing the expulsion of the German population and consequent Polonization of the city.

[2] The reference to the Renaissance appearance was important because during that time the city, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, was ruled by the House of Griffin, whose Slavic or even Piast descent is debated among historians.