Lanckorona

State of preservation:		Only larger fragments of walls have preserved of the castle
Admission:		The entrance to the ruins is free of charge
Parking:		There is no parking lot nearby the castle. You need to park in the town and go uphill to the ruins.
Searching difficulty:		So as to reach the castle it is enough to follow the signposts
Access difficulty:		The castle is situated on the mountain up to which there is a steep climb
Subjective rating:		The ruins are of average beauty but location is very attractive

Driving directions:

Lanckorona is a small village located west of Myślenice. Driving to Cracow from Myślenice along "Zakopianka" road you have to turn right into the road no 52 leading to Bielsko-Biała, and then in the place Izdebnik turn left towards Lanckorona. There you must direct to the castle acc. to notice boards’ indications, however you should not be influenced by distances given by them. In reality a distance is twice as long ;-)




Historical outline:

The castle in Lanckorona sprang into existence probably in the XIIIth cent., however the first references written about the stronghold originate in the XIVth cent. The castle was constructed by Kazimierz Wielki, which Jan from Czarnków and Jan Długosz attest unanimously. In 1391 the king Władysław Jagiełło pawned the stronghold to Mikołaj Strasz, and subsequently the castle became the property of Lewit-Melsztyński’s family. In the following centuries the owners of the castle were: Elżbieta Melsztyńska, Zbigniew from Brzeź of Zadora coat of arms, Lanckoroński family, Spytek Jarosławski, Mikołaj Wolski, Olbracht Łaski, Kacper Bekiesz, Franciszek Wesselini as well as three generations of Zebrzydowski family. In 1655 the castle was seized by the Swedes for 8 months. After their withdrawal began an embattling of the wooden-earth stronghold. In 1768 the castle was taken by Bar Confederates, whom the Austrian armies forced to leave the castle. As a result of warfare the stronghold fell into total ruin in the XIXth cent., which it has remained up to this day.


Pictures:




Nearest castles:

Kraków

Kraków

Dobczyce

Barwałd Górny

Myślenice

Sucha Beskidzka