Museum of Warmia and Mazury – Olsztyn 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.

Following the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466, Warmia was incorporated into Poland. From then until 1795, Lidzbark Castle served as residence to eminent Polish figures including 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 significant cultural center here that served as a religious and political counterbalance to the Lutheran ducal court in Königsberg.

From the late 16th century, the castle gradually lost its defensive character and transformed into a magnificent princely residence, lavishly furnished with elegant furniture, libraries and artworks. Rooms were subdivided and decorated with ornate paintings to accommodate 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’s annexation of Warmia in 1772. The last resident bishop, 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 when the Castle Museum was established. Post-WWII restorations peaked in 1972-1973 and 1980-1985. Cultural activities were initiated in 1958 by 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).