Museum of Warmia and Mazury – Lidzbark Warmiński Castle

Medals available in the souvenir shop!

Lidzbark Castle was built between 1350-1401 on the site of a small Prussian stronghold called Lecbarg, located at the confluence of the Łyna and Symsarna rivers. The outer baileys were constructed simultaneously—the southern one housed stables, granaries, and a carriage house, while the northern (industrial) bailey contained a mill, sawmill, grinding workshop, copper forge, fulling mill, and tannery. The entire complex was protected by defensive walls and moats fed by the higher-lying Symsarna River.

After the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), Warmia was incorporated into Poland. From then until 1795, Lidzbark Castle served as the residence of eminent Polish figures and luminaries of Polish culture: Łukasz Watzenrode, Nicolaus Copernicus, Jan Dantyszek, Stanisław Hozjusz, Marcin Kromer, Jan Stefan Wydżga, Andrzej Chryzostom Załuski, Adam Stanisław Grabowski, and Ignacy Krasicki. They established a vibrant cultural hub here, serving as a counterbalance—both religiously and politically—to the Lutheran ducal court in Königsberg.

By the late 16th century, the castle gradually lost its defensive character and transformed into a magnificent princely court, lavishly furnished with elegant furniture, libraries, and artworks. Rooms were subdivided and adorned with ornate paintings to suit new functions. Between 1589–1599, Bishop Andrzej Batory added a palace wing (“Cardinal’s Apartments,” later demolished in 1767). Further expansion came under Bishop Jan Stefan Wydżga, who commissioned Italian architect Issidore Affaiti to design a Baroque palace (1666–1673) adjoining the southern wing. Eight Polish bishops resided here until Prussia annexed Warmia in 1772. The last resident, Ignacy Krasicki, departed in 1794, leaving the castle to decay.

Damaged during the 1807 Battle of Lidzbark and vandalized in 1812 when converted into barracks, the castle narrowly escaped Prussian demolition plans. Wydżga’s palace was dismantled in 1838–1839 (its foundations remain visible at the castle entrance). From 1857–1859, architect Jesfer of Lidzbark redesigned the castle as an orphanage and convent hospital under Bishop Józef Ambroży Geritz.

Comprehensive conservation began in 1927, coinciding with the castle’s designation as a museum. Post-WWII restorations peaked in 1972–1973 and 1980–1985. Cultural revival started in 1958 with the Pojezierze Socio-Cultural Association, which founded the Warmia Museum in 1961—later becoming a branch of the Museum of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (1963).