The Royal Castle in Chęciny

Medals can be purchased at the castle ticket offices!

The castle in Chęciny was built on the crest of a rocky hill (367 m above sea level), at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, probably ordered by King Wenceslas II. It was an object of high rank, a centre of political life, where in the years: 1310, 1318 and 1331 conventions of magnates and knights were convened. In the middle of the 14th century, the castle was extended by Casimir the Great. It was regarded as one of the most powerful Polish strongholds (never conquered by force in its heyday). The fortress also served, from the end of the 14th century, as a prison. It was looted and burnt down during the Swedish ‘deluge’. According to legend, the underground dungeons still contain treasures left in haste by Queen Bona. In the 1960s, the film ‘Pan Wołodyjowski’, directed by Jerzy Hoffman, was shot in the castle’s scenery. Today, the castle in Chęciny is one of the most visited monuments of its kind in Poland. At night, the castle is visible from afar, as its walls and towers are perfectly illuminated, which is an additional attraction of this monument.