Pieskowa Skała Castle
Pieskowa Skała is 14th Century castle, built by King Casimir III and is situated just a few miles north of Krakow, Poland, near the village of Sułoszowaz. It is one of the best-known examples of a defensive Polish Renaissance architecture and is part of the chain of fortified castles along the Trail of the Eagle’s Nests, along the highland plane of the Polish Jura extending north-west from Kraków to the city of Częstochowa.
The castle was renovated and donated in 1377 by King Louis I of Hungary to Piotr Szafraniec of Łuczyce, according to the 15th century chronicler Jan Długosz. The Szafraniec family gained the full ownership rights of the castle in 1422 from King Władysław Jagiełło in recognition of faithful service at the Battle of Grunwald by Piotr Szafraniec, the chamberlain of Kraków.
The last owner of the castle of Szafraniec family was Jędrzej, Stanisław’s son, who died childless in 1608. After his death the estate was purchased by Maciej Łubnicki and later by the Zebrzydowski family. In 1640 Michał Zebrzydowski built the bastion fortifications with a baroque gate and a chapel. The castle changed hands many times over the centuries. In 1903 it was bought by the Pieskowa Skała Society led by Adolf Dygasiński and with time turned over to the Polish state and meticulously restored.
This photograph was taken from the Bastion adjoining the castle.
