page_title: Ogrodzieniec
section_title: Ogrodzieniec Castle
hierarchical_section_title: Ogrodzieniec / Ogrodzieniec Castle
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Zamek Ogrodzieniec English: Castle in Ogrodzieniec
context_page_description: Ogrodzieniec is a town in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,282 inhabitants. It is noted for the extensive ruins of a medieval castle.
  Ogrodzieniec is a part of Lesser Poland. After the January Uprising, Ogrodzieniec, like many other locations of Lesser Poland, lost its town charter and remained a village until 1973. Ogrodzieniec lies among the hills of Lesser Poland Upland, on the outskirts of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie. The town has an area of 28 km², and is located approximately 400 meters above sea level. In the south and west, Ogrodzieniec is surrounded by forests.
context_section_description: Due to the existence of the Ogrodzieniec Castle, the town is a popular tourist center, located on the Trail of the Eagles' Nests (note: the castle itself does not administratively belong to the town, it lies in the village of Podzamcze, 2 kilometers east of Ogrodzieniec). The castle was built in the 14th century by the Sulimczyk family. It is located on Góra Zamkowa, the highest hill of the Polish Jura (515 meters above sea level).
  First stronghold was built here in the early 12th century, during the reign of Bolesław III Wrymouth. In 1241, during the Mongol invasion of Poland, it was burned and destroyed, and in the mid-14th century, new, stone complex of a mighty Gothic castle was built here. The castle guarded western border of Lesser Poland, and in 1470 it was purchased by the Salomon family, merchants from Kraków. It then changed hands several times, belonging to the Rzeszowskis, Pileckis, Chełmińskis and finally, the Boner family (since 1523). In 1530 - 1545, Seweryn Boner turned the Gothic stronghold into a Renaissance residence. In 1562, Boner’s daughter Zofia married Jan Firlej, and the castle, as a dowry, changed hands once more. In 1587, it was captured by Maximilian III, during the War of the Polish Succession. In 1655, it was seized by Swedes (see Deluge). Swedish garrison stayed at the castle for two years, which resulted in its extensive damage. In 1669, the castle was partially restored by its new owner, castellan of Kraków Stanisław Warszycki. In 1695 it was purchased by the Męciński family, and in 1702, once again it was destroyed by Swedish soldiers, during the Great Northern War. After the destruction, the castle remained a ruin, and its subsequent owners could not afford to rebuild the complex. It remained inhabited until circa 1810.
  After World War II, the castle was nationalized, and its walls were strengthened in 1949 - 1973, which prevented total collapse of the complex. It now has a status of permanent ruin, and is open to visitors. The castle is popular among film makers; in 1973, some episodes of the TV series Janosik were made here, and in 2001, Andrzej Wajda shot The Revenge here. Furthermore, in 1984 the castle was presented in Iron Maiden’s video Behind the Iron Curtain, in the song "Hallowed Be Thy Name". Also, in the Australia television series Spellbinder, the castle was used as the ruins of the castle of the old Spellbinders.
caption: Tower of Ogrodzieniec Castle
exif: {"Image Make": "PENTAX", "Image Model": "PENTAX K-5 II", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "GIMP 2.8.2", "Image DateTime": "2014:06:23 22:15:58", "Image Artist": "Jakub Halun", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "Jakub Halun", "Image ExifOffset": "644", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "11702", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 51, 48, 48, 0, 0, 0, 33, 0, 1, 0, 22, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "11814", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7384", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "71/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:06:19 11:27:59", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:06:19 11:27:59", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "17", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4928", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3264", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "11672", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "25", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "3"}