Pieskowa Skała Castle dates from the 14th century and was built by King Casimir III, and it is one of the best examples of Renaissance architecture in Poland. The castle is located northwest of Krakow, and it functions as defenses and residences surrounded by courtyards on top of a rocky hill. I visited the castle in early April. The rooms to visit in the castle are spread over three floors that function as museums (art gallery and European fashion display), and visitors can explore the crypt and St. Michael's chapel inside the castle.
I was able to read some signs in English about the castle. The oldest buildings of the castle did not survive a fire in the 19th century, so the innr courtyard itself is the oldest part of the castle. The castle was also siezed by the Swedish army in 1655, but it was later restored.
A traditional garden is located at the castle, but this was not open to wander around on my visit.
Part of the castle appears to have been constructed within the rock that the castle is built on.
There were a few rooms to see in the castle that function as museums with displays of art, sculpture, furniture, fashion, porcelain, and more.
The castle had nice views across the valley.
I thought that St. Michael's chapel inside the castle was the most impressive room with a beautiful dome and marble walls. (I assume it is marble and not marbl-effect.)
I enjoyed looking at the different paintings and appreciating the grand rooms.
The crypt is another room to see, and it contains 17th century tin sarcopagi from the Sieniawski family (a man and his three sons), and this is a Polish traditional custom of "coffin portraits" in which the dead hav their life-like portraits on the coffin.
The Italian-style multi-storey arches line the courtyard and give access to the other rooms.
After coming out of one exhibit on the ground floor, I saw two mating frogs.There are ponds below the castle hill with these frogs, but I do not know how or why these two climbed all the way up to the castle and into the inner courtyard to mate.
Another couple of rooms were open in the lower level area. One of them had the families that lived in the castle and some history.
The other was the kitchen.
After I finished exploring inside the castle, I wandered around the exterior.
I took some nice views.
I then went for a wander to "Hercules' Rock", a large rock that points horizontally upward and is a defining feature of the castle and had a nice walk back to the bottom of the hill that the castle is on.
There are ponds below the castle with the breeding frogs, and there were so many of them. This is also a good place to see birds.
I enjoyed the visit to this castle, the museums, history, and the little walk.
Leave a comment