Świdnica

State of preservation:		No traces have preserved of the castle
Admission:		The entrance to the former castle area is limited since the church has its place there
Parking:		The area is located in a restricted parking zone therefore parking is paid
Searching difficulty:		Finding that site is not easy since it is hidden in the town center
Access difficulty:		Walking in the area does not demand any strain
Subjective rating:		No traces found

Driving directions:

Świdnica is a large town of Lower Silesia, thus there should not be any problem with its finding. If you enter the town from south-west, down the road no 379, you ought to make for the center. There turn right as the road no 379 runs, and then turn left into the Trybunarska St. At this point it is best to leave your car and go on foot to the end of the Trybunalska St., where you must turn left. Subsequently go straight ahead all the way long, next to the market square, then along the Kotlarska St., from which at the very end diverges the Zamkowa St. to the right. You need to turn into it and at its end there is a Pentecostal Church. There stood the castle.


Historical outline:

Former name: Schweidnitz

The first reference to a defensive structure in Świdnica originates in the XIIIth cent. and lists the local manor of dukes of Świdnica. In its place arose then a stone castle, however the historians are not agreeable as it regards date of its creation. Perhaps it was constructed at the end of the XIIIth cent. by duke Bolko I or duke Bernard I at the beginning of the XIVth cent. It is a well-known fact, however, that after dying out of lineage of dukes of Świdnica-Jawor the stronghold was being passed from hands to hands (Bohemian kings, and then Silesian knightly families among others). In 1528 the fire spread across the castle and its the then owner sold all of that what remained of the stronghold to chancellor Franciszek Grimm. The following often changes of owners led to demise of the castle, and its fate was sealed by the fire from 1673. Conflagration site was handed over to Capuchins, who around 1680 raised the cloister and church there. In 1810 after secularization of order the cloister was rebuilt. Only portal from 1537 has preserved of the castle till our times.




Pictures:




Nearest castles:

Wiadrów

Borzygniew

Pastuchów

Kłaczyna

Domanice

Piotrowice Świdnickie

Bronów

Rogów Sobócki

Krasków

Sobótka - Górka

Panków

Bagieniec

Sobótka (Ślęża Mountain)

Cisy Castle (of the Cis family)

Wałbrzych

Wałbrzych

Słupice

Stoszów

Czarny Bór

Zagórze Śląskie

Gola Dzierżoniowska

Wałbrzych

Dzierżoniów

Pieszyce (Rościszów)

Grzmiąca

Rybnica Leśna

Owiesno

Wolibórz (Jodłownik, Zamkowa Mountain)

Wolibórz (Garncarz Mountain)