Grodziec (Silesian Province)

State of preservation:		The structure has preserved as the whole
Admission:		Theoretically the entrance is possible and free of charge. Since on the door is shown an inscription "We welcome guests warmly", however the building houses the Board of Experimental Institute of Zootechnics, therefore it is open just in the working hours of the Institute.
Parking:		There is no parking lot nearby the castle
Searching difficulty:		Admittedly the castle is visible from the main road, but is as much inconspicuous that it is easy to overlook it
Access difficulty:		The access to the castle is slightly uphill but you walk easily
Subjective rating:		The building is not ravishing

Driving directions:

Driving down the road no 1 from Cieszyn to Bielsko-Biała beyond Skoczów, in Grodziec you need to turn left into the side road, which merges with the main one at an angle of about 110 degrees. There you have to park and follow a blue trail into the forest. The castle is opposite the cemetery.


Historical outline:

The castle in Grodziec was erected in the years of 1542-1580 by the castellan of Cieszyn, Maciej Grodecki (Grodziecki) of Radwan coat of arms and his son Henryk. The building arose in the place of the former stronghold. In 1650 after death of the last from the Grodziecki house – Krzysztof, Henryk’s son – the castle came into ownership of Marklowski family of Wieniawa coat of arms. In the subsequent years the structure came into hands of Jan Dam from Biedrzychowice, Karol Jerzy Sobek, Henryk Ferdynand Larisch so as to return again into reign of Marklowski family. In the next centuries the castle was still changing its owners repeatedly, and many of them made many reconstructions.
In 1927 the castle together with surrounding lands bought Dr. Ernest Habicht, marshal Józef Piłsudski’s friend. The structure was then renovated, and Dr. Habicht gathered there numerous collections of art (there are armory, library and 210 items from the Bronze Age among others).
In the time of the World War II, Germans organized in the castle, among others, a field hospital, and Habicht’s collections were plundered, alike furnishings of the building (one of fireplaces of Grodziec is being now in the museum in Pszczyna). Out of all the furnishings only a cupboard has preserved until today. After the war the castle was passed to Academy of Learning in Cracow, and in 1946 it came into ownership of State Institute of Scientific Agriculture in Puławy. Since 1950 it houses the Experimental Institute of Zootechnics.


Pictures:




Nearest castles:

Pszczyna

Bielsko-Biała

Cieszyn

Łodygowice