Bydlin

State of preservation:		The ruins
Admission:		The entrance to the ruins is free
Parking:		In the vicinity of the castle there is no parking lot, but you may park by the cemetery, not far from the castle
Searching difficulty:		The castle is situated in the forest far off the main road and is not visible from a distance
Access difficulty:		As to reach the ruins you must climb up the small hill in the forest
Subjective rating:		Nice ruins

Driving directions:

You must drive down the road no 791 from Zawiercie towards Olkusz. In Ryczówek turn left towards Bydlin. In Bydlin you need to drive down the main road and head for Dłużec. When you notice the chapel and the cemetery on the right side of the road, you should park by them and go down the dirt road directly opposite the chapel into the forest. After covering around 200m the ruins of the castle will unfold before our eyes.


Historical outline:

The Bydlin Castle (or as other sources give – the Zalęże fortalice) came into existence in the XIVth cent. and appears in numerous documents written down after 1389. The builder of the castle was probably Niemierza of Strzała coat of arms or his father Pełka. At the end of the XVth cent. the stronghold became the Brzezickis’ property, and then the Szczepanoskis’ and the Boners’. In the second half of the XVIth cent. Jan Firlej transformed the castle into the Arian Protestant Church, and at the end of the XVIth cent. his son, Mikołaj Firlej, converted it into the Catholic Church of the Holy Cross.
The building was ultimately abandoned at the end of the XVIII cent. due to escalating assaults of the brigands and since then it has been falling into ruin. The latest explorations of the castle were conducted in 1989 by B.Muzolf.




Pictures:




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