Renaissance Castle Gate

The sculptural decoration of the castle gate was created in 1550-1554, during the Renaissance rebuilding under Duke George II. Figures of George II and his wife Barbara stand above the entrance to the residence. They are accompanied by 24 busts of Piast rulers, forming a genealogy carved in stone.

The genealogical scheme links Poland's legendary rulers with the Silesian Piasts of the period of feudal fragmentation. Armed knights hold the ducal coats of arms; in his 1688 description, Friedrich Lucae also recorded painted decoration and gold and silver embellishments.

Much of the Renaissance sculpture survives in its original form, despite the later destruction of the residence. The ensemble brings together the patrons of the rebuilding, their heraldry and representations of their ancestors. The facade presents the dukes' lineage before visitors enter the arcaded courtyard. In the nineteenth century, stonemason Ludwig Rosenthal recreated two damaged busts, those of Henry II the Pious and Bolesław II the Horned, as well as the second-floor window surrounds. A tower-like belvedere was built above the facade during the same building campaign as the gate's sculptural decoration.