Zamek Grodziec

Grodziec Castle occupies the summit of a basalt hill, the remnant of an ancient volcanic conduit. Rising to 389 metres above sea level, the hill stands out clearly above the surrounding landscape. The stronghold was mentioned as early as 1155, but work on the stone castle whose buildings we see today began in 1473 for Duke Frederick I of Legnica.

His successors developed both the residence and the hill's defences. The palatium contained ceremonial rooms and ducal chambers, while the keep combined residential and defensive functions. The extensive outer bailey occupied most of the site and served as the residence's working area. The Thirty Years' War interrupted this chapter of its history: in 1633, the palace interiors and the roofs of the upper castle burned.

From the early nineteenth century, Grodziec was transformed into a monument open to visitors. Henryk Hochberg stabilised the ruins and laid out gardens, while Bodo Ebhardt's reconstruction of 1906-1908 gave the buildings many features still visible today. The halls and galleries consequently also tell the story of later attempts to recreate the Middle Ages. Alongside the castle's architecture, the torture instruments display offers a separate subject to explore.