Sandomierz Castle
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In the 14th century, a Gothic brick building with a defence tower and a castle wall was erected on the site of a wooden castle by the foundation of King Casimir the Great. At that time Sandomierz was one of the most important state centres in Lesser Poland, and the castle became the seat of the royal aldermen, at the same time quite often hosting the rulers of Poland.
In the 16th century, on the initiative of King Sigismund I the Old, the rebuilding of the Gothic castle into a Renaissance residence began. The work was entrusted to the architect Benedict, known as the Sandomierz Master. Master Benedict carried out the expansion plan according to which the existing building constituted the south wing, the east wing was erected and construction of the west wing began. In the second half of the 16th century, during the reign of King Sigismund Augustus, the architect and sculptor Santi Gucci continued the expansion work. During this period, the quadrangle of the Renaissance castle was finally formed, which performed administrative and judicial functions and became the seat of the town mayors.
During the reign of King Jan Kazimierz in 1656, during the ‘Deluge’, the castle was blown up by retreating Swedish troops. The eastern and southern wings were destroyed. The west wing suffered the least damage, and by order of King Jan III Sobieski, it was rebuilt into a free-standing palace-type building, which in its basic framework has survived to this day. The castle, which was the seat of the Sandomierz aldermen, became a public building: an office, court and prison.
After the Third Partition of Poland, the Austrian invaders designated the castle as a court and prison. However, the practical functioning of the prison began in 1825 during the Russian annexation.
In 1844, the remains of the royal castle were rebuilt, giving it strict classicist architectural forms. At the end of the 19th century, the semi-circular prison courtyard was enclosed by a new wing, the so-called ‘cornice’, and a building for the prison administration was inserted into the northern wall. The castle was used as a prison until 1959. Extensive renovation and conservation work was carried out between 1965 and 1986, including the demolition of the administration building and the ‘horn’ surrounding the courtyard. In 1986, the decision of the Sandomierz City National Council designated the castle as the seat of the Sandomierz District Museum.
In 1995-2002, work was carried out on the reconstruction and stabilisation of the castle hill and the modernisation of the castle roof and attic. For these works, the Museum received the Sybil 2002 – 1st prize in the competition for the museum event of the year in the category: conservation achievements.
In 2004-2007, revitalisation work was carried out inside the castle.
