check_circle Outdoors
check_circle Mainly in the sun
check_circle Parking
check_circle Playground
The picturesque ruins of a castle located 15 kilometers from Czestochowa in the small town of Olsztyn are one of the most famous and recognizable among the "Eagle's Nests". Your sight is immediately drawn to the cylindrical, tall tower and the rock formations surrounding the castle.
- entry to the castle is paid
- paths are quite steep and rocky - not accessible for wheelchairs
- around the ruins there is a vast, scenic meadow where you can laze around
Olsztyn Castle - a short history
Before the castle was erected, there probably was an old, early medieval stronghold that burned down. The establishment of the brick castle is associated with King Casimir the Great, who was its founder - the castle was supposed to protect the kingdom's borders from the Silesian side. The construction of the castle was probably started by the knight Przemil - hence the old name of the castle is "Przemilowice fortress". Soon, under the walls of the fortress, a castle settlement of the character of a sub-castle, called Olsztyn, was established, but the town never developed due to the Swedish flood, fire, and infertile, sandy soil and location away from trade routes.
Olsztyn Castle today
Today, the walls of the residential part, towers: cylindrical and square called Starosty, fragments of walls of outbuildings, partially also cellars and foundations of a smithy and traces of smokehouses, i.e. old smelting furnaces, discovered during archaeological research, have been preserved from the castle.
The area around the castle and rock formations
Around the castle there is a vast meadow with a beautiful view of the surrounding area - the town of Olsztyn located below and the surrounding rock reserve. Apparently, there is a vast system of caves and corridors carved in the rock under the castle. There is also talk of an underground tunnel connecting the Olsztyn fortress with the Jasna Gora monastery!
Castle street
In Olsztyn, on the street leading to the castle, there are stalls, catering facilities and shops. Also bicycle racks.
Right at the entrance to the castle ruins, you will find a public playground for children.
What are the "Eagle's Nests"?
This is a system of medieval brick fortresses, which were usually built on the site of wooden strongholds and were supposed to defend the borders of the Kingdom of Poland and trade routes. The castles were built during the reign of King Casimir the Great, who was often their founder - after all, from school benches we know the famous saying about him "he found Poland wooden, and left it brick". Interestingly, the funds for the brick expansion mainly came from the then salt mines in Wieliczka and Bochnia, called then żupy. Salt was then a luxury good and more valuable than gold, and the income from salt extraction constituted 1/3 of the treasury of the entire Kingdom of Poland!
King Casimir the Great coloring page - pdf to download and print
While visiting the Jurassic fortresses, it is worth telling children about King Casimir the Great - it was during his reign that the "Eagle's Nests" were created. Below we attach a pdf file of a coloring page, which you can print on your home printer.
Publish Date: 2023-08-06
More in the Region Jura (Jura)
Total Length 122 km
