Outer Bailey

The outer bailey occupies approximately two thirds of the entire complex. It was the residence's extensive service area, not simply an empty space outside the ducal palace. Its working buildings included an inn and a forge. Their remains differ: traces of the rectangular inn survive, but the former forge beside the gate has disappeared.

The approach passes through a gatehouse with a guardroom and continues towards the upper castle. The two parts of the stronghold had separate defences. Walls, a gate and a moat once crossed by a drawbridge separated the upper castle from the outer bailey. A dry ditch and an earthen bank provided an additional barrier around the whole complex. Entering the service area did not mean reaching the ducal residence.

In 1533-1535, the ducal military engineer Jan von Hardeck modernised the defences. The work produced two caponiers and an expanded defensive system for the outer bailey. The caponiers had horseshoe-shaped plans. Much later, the area acquired a different use: ornamental gardens were laid out under Henryk Hochberg in the early nineteenth century. They have not survived, but formed part of the Romantic transformation of the ruins into a visitor destination.