Szamotuły

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamek_w_Szamotułach

The Castle in Szamotuły - is located in Szamotuły in the Greater Poland Voivodeship . The assumption includes the rebuilt castle together with the Halszka Tower and auxiliary buildings (outbuilding and pheasantry) located in the historic park . The foundations of Gothic towers from the beginning of the century have also been preserved. The 16th century. The first Wielkopolska printing house in history operating in the castle from 1551, publishing books in Polish and Czech .

The first castle in Szamotuły was built in the second half of the 14th century probably by the castellan of Nakło in Sędziwoj Świdwa and located in the southern part of the city. Presumably it had the form of a regular, four-sided foundation with a castle house along one of the curtains, and its relics are stuck in the walls of the Holy Cross church [4] [5] . This castle was demolished in 1675, and a church and monastery were built here [2] [6] [7] . Fragments of a stone slab have survived, integrated into the church gate.

The Szamotulski family ruling in Szamotuły consisted of two branches [2] . A representative of another branch, Dobrogost Świdwa-Szamotulski, decided to put up his castle in the northern part of the city, in the Gothic style [2] . The moat and wall surrounded the complex consisting of a residential building, towers and a separately located tower [2] [7] . In 1511, Łukasz II Górka became the owner of the castle after marrying Katarzyna Szamotulska. In 1518, he rebuilt the castle complex in the Renaissance style, and the tower today called the Halszka Tower was rebuilt for residential purposes . Another modernization took place in 1552, when the owner of the castle was the later voivode, Łukasz III Górka[2] . After the voivode's death, the castle passed into the hands of noble families and gradually fell into decline . In 1720 the residential part was renovated .

In the nineteenth century, the castle was, among others owned by Frederick William IV of Prussia , the future king and princes of Sachsen-Coburg-Goth [2] . In 1869 a complete renovation was carried out, during which part of the original elements were removed [2] [7] [9] . The reconstruction in the historical shape and with the use of preserved Gothic fragments was carried out in 1976-1990 on the basis of detailed research [2] [10] . The building became the seat of the museum, which presents historic interiors, regional archaeological and ethnographic collections, and the history of the Górków family . Previously, only the tower was used as a museum .

Castle complex
The central part of the complex is the rebuilt castle, in the shape of the letter L [2] . Fragments of the moat and ramparts have been preserved in the surrounding historic park [11] . On the west side there is an 18th-century outbuilding and, in the vicinity of the pond, the Halszka Tower . On the opposite side is a pheasant house from the 19th century, the outbuilding reproduced in 1990 and the foundations of the towers from the 16th century.

Halszka Tower
Main article: Halszka Tower .
One of the preserved towers is known as the Halszka Tower. The diminutive of Halszka was called princess Elżbieta Ostrogska , granddaughter of Zygmunt Stary, known for her beauty and wealth, immortalized in, among others on the painting by Jan Matejko [2] [12] . Halszka did not want to agree to an arranged marriage with Łukasz III Górka , but she was forcibly brought to Szamotuły and imprisoned there for 14 years in a tower, reportedly connected by an underground passage with the church [2] [12] . Elżbieta Ostrogska went insane and died shortly after her husband's death [2] [12] . According to legends, the spirit of Halszka returns to the tower .

https://medievalheritage.eu/en/main-page/herita…Read more