The Krzyżtopór Castle(German: Cross ax) is a castle ruin of enormous proportions from the baroque period. It is located in the village of Ujazd in Gmina Iwaniska im Powiat Opatów in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in Poland.
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background
The palace complex was built in the early Baroque Mannerist style between 1627 and 1644 as the residence of the voivode of Sandomierz, Krzysztof Ossoliński, built by Lorenzo Senes, but destroyed by Swedish troops between 1655 and 1657. Although the castle was still inhabited until around 1770, it was a huge ruin that is still well preserved today.[1]
investment
The castle was modeled on one Castello in fortezza built as a bastionary complex on the ground plan of a (more or less) regular pentagon. The buildings inside also form a regular pentagon, symmetrically aligned with the access gate in the southeast curtain, a marble portal crowned by a large cross with an ax in the gate tower. The courtyard in front of the palace is trapezoidal and is flanked by wings with towers that run along the curtains. The actual four-story palace, three-story on the sides, has an elliptical courtyard in the middle. The horseshoe-shaped vaulted galleries are designed as passageways with massive arcades on the ground floor. In the rear wing there is a two-story grand hall, the ceiling of which represented a large aquarium with colorful exotic fish.
Krzyżtopór existed before the castle was built Versailles as the largest palace in Europe. The castle symbolically had 4 bastions - seasons, 12 halls - months, 52 rooms - weeks and 365 window - days.
getting there
- by car:
- Of east (Sandomierz): Via Droga krajowa 77 to Lipnik (16 km), then to the left on Droga krajowa 9 to Klimontow (10 km), to the right on Voivodship Road 758, after about 13 km you will reach the castle.
- Of west (Kielce): on Droga krajowa 74 to Baćkowice (46 km), turn right there and along small side roads to Iwaniska (around 9 km) and from there around 3 km to the castle.
- Of south (Cracow) on Droga krajowa along the left bank of the Vistula to Połaniec, there turn left onto voivodship road 764 to Staszów, here right onto voivodship road 757 to Iwaniska and there turn right to Ujazd.
- by train:
The next train station is Staszów (currently no more passenger traffic).
mobility
Parking is available at the castle ruins, which can be explored on foot.
kitchen
There is a snack option at the castle.
accommodation
trips
- In the beautiful city Sandomierz it is not far.
- The magnificent Renaissance grave monument of Chancellor Krzysztof Szydlowiecki is located in the former collegiate church in the district town of Opatów.
- In Baranów Sandomierski on the opposite side of the Vistula there is a remarkable Renaissance castle.
Individual evidence
- ↑Jerzy Losiński: Art Monuments in Poland. A picture manual. Krakow and Southeast Poland. Edition Leipzig / Deutscher Kunstverlag 1984, p. 478. ISBN 3-422-00385-1 .
literature
- Reinhold Vetter: Between Wisła / Vistula, Bug and Karpaty / Carpathian Mountains, in: Poland. History, art and landscape of an ancient European cultural nation, DuMont art travel guide, 3rd edition, ISBN 3-7701-2023-X , DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne 1991, p. 515
- Dehio Handbook Poland: Lesser Poland II, Deutscher Kunstverlag Berlin 2020, p. 871 ff., ISBN 978-3-422-03125-8
- Jerzy Losiński: Art Monuments in Poland: Krakow and Southeast Poland, a Picture Guide, Munich / Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag 1984, pp. 478-479, ISBN 3-422-00385-1
- Józef Myjak: Opatów i okolice, Zamek Krzyżtopór w Ujezdie, 140. pozycja, ISBN 978-83-86436-99-6 , Wydawnictwo PAIR Myjakpress, 2008
