Niesytno Castle was a castle in the south-west of Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, near the village of Płonina (German name: Nimmersath), situated west of Bolków

Bolków

Bolków is a town in Jawor County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Bolków and part of the Neisse-Nysa-Nisa Euroregion....

. When the castle had turned into ruins, the Płonina Palace was built at the same site, though the place is still often referred to as Niesytno Castle. It has decayed over the years, and only its ruins have remained. It is in private hands and closed for public, but is along the touristic Piastowskich Castle Route (Szlak Zamków Piastowskich).

History

The first mentioning of Niesytno Castle dates back to the 13th century, but it is not known by whom it was built. Legends tell of occupation by Hussite

Hussite

The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus , who became one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation...

 and mercenaries, and therefore it was also named Zakątek Strachu or Angstwinkel (Polish and German for "corner of fear"). From the second part of the 15th century until the 17th century, the castle was inhabited by the "von Zedlitz" lineage. It has been a military defense structure for several times. Later, the castle became a renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

 palace.

During the Second World War, German airmen (the luftwaffe

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

) resided in the palace, preparing themselves for battle at the eastern front. The resistance used the palace as home during summer season. At that time it gradually turned into ruins. Thereafter, it was owned by the automobile manufacturer "Fabryka Samochodów Ciężarowych" from Lublin

Lublin

Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...

. Some repairs were carried out at that time, though neighboring population stole the building materials little by little. The palace weathered until 1990.

On the 2nd of July 1990, while belonging to Elizabeth Zawadzkie-Malickiej from 1984, it burned down due to arson, which ruined the palace. The current state of the buildings yield even more damage. Parts of the brick walls remained after the fire.

Present

The buildings are not open for public, but it is possible to walk around the premises and get a glimpse of what is left of the buildings. The castle is located on a hill surrounded by forest, and the remainders of the tower of the castle are visible from some distance. Most of the other parts of the ruins are hidden behind trees. Some caves can be found around the ruins, which once probably were basement and other rooms.

External links

• http://niesytno.pl/ (Polish)
• http://plonina.zamki.pl/ (Polish)
• http://www.zamkipolskie.com/plon/plon.html (Polish) - Site with the history of many castles in Poland, including Niesytno Castle. Features images of the present ruins as well as an ancient image of the palace.