Ogrodzieniec Castle (Poland) - location of many films and serials

Located 60 km from Krakow, Ogrodzieniec Castle is located on the highest hill of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland called the Janowski Mountain with a height of 515 m a.s.l.

The ruins of the Ogrodzieniec Castle are considered to be the most impressive of all the objects on the Eagles' Nests Trail and are considered a showcase of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland.

According to many people, it is one of the most impressive fortresses in this part of Europe, despite the fact that it looks ruined and composed only of remains and debris.

The owners of this castle built during the time of King Casimir have changed many times. Starting from the influential Sulim family, who built it between the 14th and 15th centuries, to the families of Salomonowicz, Rzeszowski, Pilecki, Włodków, Boner, Firlej, Warszycki and Jakliński.

At the time of Włodków, the castle consisted of a three-storey, single-track tower on the eastern rock, called the high castle, and a single-track building with four rooms on the southern rock.

The South Tower, called the Tower of Convicts, was two stories high. The main entrance gate led through the gap between the rocks on the south side, and on the north side, access to the castle was defended by a high wood and earth embankment, because this side was not protected by rocks.

The Boner family enlarged it and transformed it into a Renaissance residence. During their time, the embankment was removed and a four-storey wing was built, the middle castle was built, and the southern tower added two additional floors. Two towers were erected, Kredencerska and Bramna with a drawbridge and a moat.

Further changes during the Boner era were the addition of a two-story wing to the west, the construction of an economic base, as well as boulevards and curtain wall. Porches, balconies and loggias were added in the courtyard, while the brewery and distillery building was added to the south.

Jan Firlej, who succeeded them, added a knights' courtyard, bastion boulevard and a dry moat. The perimeter wall and the entrance gate with a drawbridge and moat were built during the time of Stanisław Waszycki.

The castle walls were built of various materials, including multi-ton limestone blocks with flint veins. Although flint is an extremely hard material and it is difficult to do anything about it, in Ogrodzieniec the stone blocks were cut in one plane.

During the Polish-Swedish war (in 1655), the castle was partially digested by a terrible fire, which caused its severe deterioration and irreparable damage, mainly in the residential part. In 1702 he again fell victim to a fire, also incited by the Swedish army, and the fire consumed more than half of the castle.

After conducting conservation works in the years 1949-1951 and 1964-1973, and after securing the ruins, the fortress was made available to tourists.

During the season, various events often take place here, such as knights' tournaments, meetings with ghosts and concerts. One of the most popular are Barbarian Raid and Juromania.

Visiting the inner courtyard, gate tower, former knight's chambers, prison tower, treasury or armory, you can hear legends about this castle and its original inhabitants. One of them concerns the character of a black dog, which is huge and has the soul of the castellan of Kraków Stanisław Warszycki.

In 1973 the castle was immortalized in the TV series "Janosik" by J. Passendorfer.

In 2001, the castle ruins served as the open air movie set for "The Revenge" by Aleksander Fredro, directed by Andrzej Wajda.

In April 2019, some scenes were shot for the series The Witcher, produced by Netflix, based on the novel by Andrzej Sapkowski. During the shooting of the scenes, the castle grounds were guarded by security, and the castle itself was not available to visitors.