Castle in a mountain landscape

The engraving depicts a castle standing on a hill among rocks and trees. The author did not sign the work with a title, as is the case with some graphics from the portfolio.

Baswed on a comparison with other preserved castles in Poland, one may risk a claim that this is the royal castle in Ojców. It is situated 20 kilometres north-west of Krakow, in Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska. Not many castles in Poland have a stone, octagonal tower, covered with a pointed, polygonal roof. This element of the building is very characteristic for the Ojców Castle. The second architectural element visible on the graphics is the entrance gate in the form of a quadrilateral tower with a window. To the right of the entrance one can see the ruins of a former dwelling house.

The Castle in Ojców was built around the middle of the 14th century on the initiative of Casimir the Great. The main objects were: an octagonal tower, called the Stone Tower, a gate tower, called the Entrance Tower, and a dwelling house, which has not survived. Moreover, within the magnificent castle walls there was a chapel, a house for servants, a stable, a granary, a henhouse, utility rooms, such as a kitchen or a larder, a smithy, defensive towers, and a well in the middle of the courtyard. Probably in the courtyard there was also a small field for growing vegetables necessary in the kitchen.

Legend has it that the limestone rocks of Ojców were a shelter for Władysław Łokietek during his struggle for the throne in nearby Cracow. To commemorate these events, his son Casimir the Great built a castle at this site, which he named Ojców after the Polish word for father.

The figures of both rulers are significant for the history of Lublin. Władysław Łokietek, when he was still a duke, granted the location privilege to the city, and his son, Casimir, strengthened it with a mighty defence wall.