n the early Middle Ages, on the site where the majestic castle stands, there was a wooden and earth fortified settlement. In 1231 Teutonic Knights conquered it, and soon gave it, along with the vila Golube hamlet, to Bishop Wolimir of Włocławek (d. 1275), who, just before his death, donated the castle as a fief to the knight Wojciech of Smolno, in exchange for help in defending his lands against Prussian tribes. At the end of the 13th century, the Teutonic Order regained the mentioned bridgehead by way of exchange, and in 1293-95 expanded the wooden stronghold into a watchtower to guard the crossing of Drwęca River. The wooden castle did not last long, since at the beginning of the 14th century, on the initiative of the Golub commandant, Konrad von Sack (d. after 1306), it was decided to build here a castle made of brick. Its construction was completed around 1330.
THE HUGE CANNON STANDING IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE IS A PROP FROM THE FAMOUS POLISH HISTORICAL FILM
CALLED "THE DELUGE (POTOP)"
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he Teutonic Knights' castle in Golub protected the country's border from the side of Poland and its allied Duchy of Mazovia, and was therefore repeatedly exposed to armed attacks. In 1329-33, Polish King
Władysław Łokietek (d. 1333) attempted to conquer it three times during a joint expedition with the Lithuanians to Chełmno Land, but, as a chronicler noted, these attacks ended only with destruction of five villages near Golub. However, almost the entire 14th century turned out to be relatively peaceful for the castle, in contrast to the 15th century, which brought unrest related to increasing hostilities in Polish-Teutonic affairs. Preparations for inevitable armed conflict had a significant impact on the growing strategic importance of the commandery's headquarters, the condition of which was personally inspected in July 1408 by the commander-in-chief of the Teutonic army, Grand Master
Ulrich von Jungingen (d. 1410).
IN FRONT OF THE MAIN GATE
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n the spring of 1410, three months before his tragic death at the Battle of Grunwald, Golub commandant Nicholas Röder did have an adequate supply of food, but the condition of castle's armaments still left much to be desired. Cellars and kitchen contained, among other things, 6 barrels of beer, 230 carcasses of dried and smoked meat, 3 barrels of lard, 800 cheeses, a barrel of butter and 22 barrels of salt. The granary and mill stored 29 lasts (ca. 100,000 liters) of rye, 15 bushels (about 1,000 liters) of flour, 150 bushels of barley, 40 bushels of peas, 3 bushels of turnips, 2 and a half bushels of hempseed, and 40 bushels of oats. Livestock included 192 horses, 97 cows, 30 oxen, 31 calves, 213 pigs, and 1161 sheep and 500 lambs. Much more modest was the armory's provision of protective and shooting weapons. An auditor counted only 17 armors, 16 helmets, 2 lead bullet cannons and 28 crossbows, 3 tents, 3 ordinary and 8 knight's saddles, as well as small amounts of minor equipment of symbolic military significance. The exact size of the castle's crew is unknown, but judging from the number of armaments, it was not impressive.
IN THE CASTLE COURTYARD
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uring the great war of the Teutonic state against Poland (1409-1411), the castle did not suffer major damage. In the summer of 1410 it was seized without a fight by the Polish royal army, and then, according to decision of King
Władysław Jagiełło, it was handed over to the knight Niemista of Szczytniki. However, as early as October of the same year, the stronghold surrendered to the overwhelming Teutonic and Livonian forces under the command of Marshal Bern von Hevelmann. These actions met with a counterattack of the Polish army, which led to a small battle between the troops of Dobiesław Puchała of
Wieniawa coat of arms (d. 1441) and the numerically superior Livonian regiments, which ended with the victory of the royal army and reoccupation of Golub by Polish knights. The castle remained under Polish rule until February 1411, when it was returned to Teutonic Order under the terms of the First Toruń Peace Treaty.
MONKEY WITH FRUIT, A FRAGMENT OF THE CASTLE CHAPEL PORTAL FROM AROUND 1320
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welve years later, after the outbreak of another Polish-Teutonic conflict known as the Golub War, the Polish-Lithuanian army again approached Golub and laid siege to the fortress on August 20, 1422, which ended successfully. During this battle, 50 Teutonic knights were killed, including the commandant, and 40 men were taken prisoner. After the victory, the king ordered to demolish all the most important elements of town fortifications, among them the main tower - the largest and strongest edifice in the entire defense system. The Golub war lasted only two months and by September 1422 the castle returned to the hands of Teutonic Order. Its reconstruction soon began, lasting intermittently until the late 1440s. An interesting fact remains that after the Teutonic Knights recaptured Golub, two Polish prisoners of war were detained in the castle, but they escaped, as is known from a letter written by Toruń commandant in the summer of 1423.
IN THE MIDDLE AGES DRWĘCA RIVER CONSTITUTED THE BORDER BETWEEN POLAND AND THE TEUTONIC STATE
AND IN THE YEARS 1815-1920 IT SEPARATED THE PRUSSIAN OCCUPATION LAND FROM THE RUSSIAN ONE
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n February 4, 1454 the Prussian Union authorities declared obedience to the Teutonic state. As a consequence, an armed uprising broke out in the whole Teutonic territory and strongholds were attacked, including the castle in Golub, whose crew surrendered practically without a fight. Soon, it came under the rule of knight Jan from Wichulec for a short time and in September of the same year it was leased by the royal courtier Grot from Ostrów,
Rawicz coat of arms. Three years later the king granted the office in Golub to the Bohemian rotamaster Oldrich Cervonka (d. 1465) as a reward for taking and selling to Poland Teutonic castles in Malbork, Tczew and Iława.
A FRAGMENT OF THE SOUTH ELEVATION OF THE CASTLE WITH LARGE WINDOWS OF THE CHAPEL AND CHAPTER HOUSE
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n September 1460, Cervonka was imprisoned by the Bohemian King Jiří z Kunštátu a Poděbrad, allied with the Order. This fact was exploited by the commander of Czech mercenary troops, but fighting for the Teutonic Order - Bernard von Zinnenberg (d. 1470) - who attempted to capture the castle. As a result of the treachery of a group of townsmen, von Zinnenberg's troops did enter the town, but the garrison, commanded by Andrzej of Dobrzyczany called Puszkarz (d. 1483), managed to repel their direct assault on the castle. Such attempts were made several more times, but each time they proved unsuccessful. In 1462, Cervonka, who had been released from prison, recaptured the town, and its German crew was slaughtered or taken prisoner. From then on Golub remained under Polish administration.
CASTLE AND TOWN IN ERIK DAHLBERG'S ENGRAVING, SAMUEL PUFENDORF: "DE REBUS A CAROLO GUSTAVO GESTIS", 1656
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fter the end of the Thirteen Years' War (1466), the castle, formerly the seat of the Teutonic convent, became an administrative center and a residence of the royal official called starosta. At the beginning of the 16th century, on the initiative of King
Zygmunt Stary (Sigismund the Old) and under the supervision of Chełmno Bishop Jan Konopacki (d. 1530), reconstruction of the castle interiors began, during which some of vaults were replaced with Renaissance ceilings. These works were completed at the time when the starosta of Golub was Stanisław Kostka of
Dąbrowa coat of arms (d. 1555), a representative of the family that managed the castle from 1524 until the second decade of the 17th century. When Stanisław died, the office was succeeded by his son Jan (d. 1581), one of the founders of the Polish navy, remembered primarily as a two-time candidate for king of Poland.
RENAISSANCE TOPPING OF THE CASTLE FAÇADE IS A RESULT OF VASA REDESIGNING FROM THE EARLY XVII CENTURY
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oon after the starosty of Golub was taken over by the king's sister Anna Vasa (d. 1625), a far-reaching reconstruction of the former castle-cloister into a representative palace began. Anna was the first, but not the last female administrator in Golub. After her death, the Catholic fanatic
Constance von Habsburg, second wife of King
Sigismund III Vasa, settled here, and when she died of a stroke in 1631, the not-very-pretty but wise
Anna Katarzyna (d. 1651), sister of Polish King
Jan Kazimierz, replaced her in the office. The starosty, however, was taken from the princess after she came of age in 1638 and given to
Cecilia Renata, wife of King
Władysław IV. She held it until the day of her death on March 24, 1644, following complications from the stillbirth of her daughter.
CASTLE AND TOWN IN 1738-45 ACCORDING TO A DRAWING BY GEORG FRIEDRICH STEINER
Anna Vasa was born on May 17, 1568 at
Eskilstuna castle in Sweden as the youngest daughter of the Polish princess
Katarzyna Jagiellonka and the Duke of Finland, later King
Jan III of Sweden. At the age of 19, she came to Poland with her brother Sigismund, who was elected Polish king. And though she was soon sent back to Sweden because of her influence on brother's politics, she returned after a few years, remaining in Poland until the end of her days.
Anna wasn't very attractive: neither pretty nor shapely. On the contrary, she measured as much as 182 cm in height, considerably more than most men of her era. However, her frumpy appearance was compensated for by other virtues. For example, Vasa spoke five languages: Swedish, French, Polish, German, and Latin. She maintained relations with prominent representatives of Reformation, patronized scholars and writers, and was herself active in the fields of botany and herbal medicine. At her own expense, she published several important works, including
the first Polish herbarium, written by a professor of the Cracow Academy Szymon Syreński, and numbering 1600 pages. Anna is also considered a pioneer of domestic tobacco industry, as it is believed that she cultivated the first tobacco plants in Poland (which she allegedly received from a Turkish deputy).
Anna Vasa initially resided in Wawel castle, but due to a religious conflict with her brother Sigismund III and his Catholic wife Constance of Austria, she was forced to leave Cracow and live in estates donated to her by the king: in Brodnica (which served as winter residence) and Golub (where she stayed during the summer). Anna died in Brodnica on February 6, 1625 at the age of 57. Due to the papal ban on burying Protestants in Catholic cemeteries, her body was kept in one of rooms of Brodnica castle for several years. She was buried as late as 1636 in
the mausoleum specially erected for her at the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Toruń, then a Lutheran temple.
DRAWING BY TEOFIL ŻEBRAWSKI FROM 1826
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uring the reign of the four princesses, the castle became similar to magnate residences of the type characteristic of the southern and southeastern peripheries of the kingdom. In subsequent years it was administered by the Szczawińskis of
Prawdzic coat of arms (1645-55), the Lubomirskis of
Śreniawa coat of arms (1655-1664) and the Grudzińskis of
Grzymała coat of arms (1667-1713). In 1713 Lukrecja Grudzińska (d. 1713), who held the Golub castle for life, married Fryderyk Józef Donhoff of
his coat of arms (d. 1723), also handing over the Golub starosty to him. The office was then kept by Stanislaw Wessel of
Rogala coat of arms (d. 1765), and later, until the partitions of Poland, by Ludwika Bieganowska, widow of the late Stanisław.
LITHOGRAPH BY NAPOLEON ORDA, "ALBUM WIDOKÓW" 1880
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he 17th and 18th centuries were characterized by plagues and armed conflicts, of which the Northern War and the Seven Years' War in particular left their mark on the town's history and led to the downgrading of the former royal residence. However, despite numerous plagues and diseases, as well as Swedish, Prussian, Bosnian and Rus invasions, technical condition of the castle in the mid-18th century was still defined as good. After the first partition of Poland and the seizure of these lands by Prussian authorities in 1772, it housed offices and apartments for administrators. At that time no one cared about the well-being of the building, so it quickly deteriorated. When the French occupied the town during the Napoleonic wars, they placed a lazarette in the castle, which only accelerated the process of its devastation. Even greater barbarism was shown by the Prussian forest inspector Richter, who in 1817 arranged an apartment for himself in the right wing of the castle, and to save fuel, he ordered to dismantle and burn the wooden gallery.
THE RUINED CASTLE IN 1891 ENGRAVING, "DIE BAU- UND KUNSTDENKMALER DER KREISES STRASBURG"
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n the early 1830s, the new tenant converted ground floor of the castle into barns and its courtyard into a manure pit. A prison also operated here from 1833. Deliberate devastation and lack of care for the building quickly led it to ruin, and this process was accelerated by strong windstorms, which in 1842 and 1869 caused parts of the vaults to collapse. By the second half of the 19th century, only the west wing, which housed a school and a teacher's apartment, was fit for use. At the beginning of the 20th century, on the initiative of
Kaiser Wilhelm II and partly thanks to the funds he provided, preservation work began, resulting in an inventory and the unveiling of the chapel portal. It was also intended to cover the building with new roofs, but the outbreak of World War I thwarted these plans.
VIEW OF THE CASTLE FROM THE BRIDGE OVER DRWĘCA RIVER, EARLY 20TH CENTURY AND TODAY
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n 1918, Golub became part of Poland, but administratively it belonged to a different voivodship than neighboring Dobrzyń, which was not conducive to development of either of these towns. As early as 1920, a regional museum was opened in several castle rooms. In 1926, the ruined walls of the chapel and vaults of the sacristy were demolished to make necessary repairs to the roofs and some rooms, and the never-completed reconstruction of the castle into a training center began. In 1939 the German occupation authorities seized the building to use it as a propaganda and educational center for Nazi youth.
WEST WING, PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE 1930S AND 2019
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t the end of the World War II, the castle was devastated again, but even in the 1940s the most urgent preservation works began, although the authorities of the time were not entirely comfortable with investing in the so-called Germanic cultural heritage and symbol of Teutonic oppression. After reconstruction of the building, which ended in 1967, a headquarters of the tourist society (PTTK) was placed here, as well as a regional museum, a library, a café and a tourist hotel. Over time, cultural institutions were moved to other buildings in the town, and PTTK authorities focused on activities of a tourist and entertainment character.
THE SOUTH WING WITH THE CASTLE CHAPEL, THE CONDITION BEFORE AND AFTER RECONSTRUCTION
he medieval Gothic castle consisted of a main seat of the convent (upper castle), built on a rectangular plan with sides of 34x42 m, and a farmyard of which only foundations of the entrance gate and earth embankments have survived to the present day. The upper castle is built of brick and stone (foundations). Its walls are supported by massive buttresses, which improve stability on the unsteady, steeply sloping ground. Basements and ground floor of the building were occupied by rooms that served as workshops for craftsmen, as well as utility facilities: food and equipment stores, kitchen, a bakery etc.
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE CASTLE, AS IT STOOD IN THE 1930S
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he first floor of the south wing houses
the Gothic chapel of the Holy Cross, which is covered by a three-bay stellar vault (now reconstructed), and its interior is illuminated by three high,
pointed-arch windows with tracery. In the eastern part of the same wing a three-bay, cross-ribbed vaulted chapter house was located, which served as a place for convent meetings. This room was centrally heated by hot air coming from a furnace located beneath, and pumped through floor nozzles. Two large chambers, the chapel and the chapter house, were separated by a relatively small room, the purpose of which remains unknown (some believe it was an infirmary).
GOTHIC VAULTING OF THE CASTLE CHAPEL
PLAN OF THE FIRST FLOOR BY R. SZYSZKIEWICZ: 1. CHAPTERHOUSE, 2. ROOM (INFIRMARY?), 3. CHAPEL, 4. REFECTORY,
5. STAIRCASE, 6. DORMITORY, 7. COMMANDANT'S ROOMS, 8. TOILET TOWER, 9. WELL, 10. SOUTH-WEST TOWER,
11. NORTH-WEST TOWER, 12. FOUNDATIONS OF THE CORNER TOWER, 13. SACRISTY
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he first floor of the east wing housed a refectory covered with a cross vault (later the vault was replaced by a wooden ceiling), separated from the chapel by a narrow chamber, probably a sacristy. Dormitories were located in the northern wing - a narrow porch connecting the building to a toilet tower led from there. The west wing of the castle on the first floor contained commandant's apartments, while the ground floor housed a guardroom.
WEST ELEVATION OF THE CASTLE, "DIE BAU- UND KUNSTDENKMALER DES KREISES STRASBURG" 1891
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he second floor of the castle consisted mainly of storage rooms and an arms depot. Its attic was connected by a porch with corner towers and one of the two cylindrical western towers, making it an important link in the entire defense system. Communication functions were performed by a
gallery surrounding a small courtyard at the level of the first floor. It was made of wood, so that in case of danger it could be simply set on fire, thus cutting off the enemy's access to the upper floors. Little is known about original equipment and decoration of castle chambers. Presumably, all representative rooms were decorated with figural and heraldic paintings, and their basic furnishings included stoves and oak furniture. Facades of the buildings also had decorations in the type of two- or four-color compositions made in the sgraffito technique, but these did not appear until the 16th century.
WOODEN GALLERY IN THE CASTLE COURTYARD (RECONSTRUCTED))
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t the beginning of the 14th century, work began on erecting a tower in the northwestern part of the upper castle, the base of which measured 8x8 meters. However, this work was discontinued after the construction of two stories and never completed, and the function of the unfinished tower was to some extent taken over by two cylindrical towers, adapted to use firearms. In the basement of the building a relatively high-standard (with latrine and ventilation) prison dungeon was placed, presumably intended for captives or prisoners of war of higher rank.
RECONSTRUCTION OF A XIV CENTURY CASTLE BY J. SALM
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trapezoidal farmyard measuring ca. 70x110 meters was adjacent to the upper castle to the west, separated from it by a ditch and a wall. The economic life of the convent was concentrated here: a smithy, stables, craftsmen's workshops, baths, livestock quarters and servants' apartments stood at this site. A road from the farmyard to the upper castle led across a bridge over a dry moat, which was flanked by two cylindrical towers:
the southern tower, erected at the end of the 14th century, and the slightly lower and younger northern tower (not preserved). In the Middle Ages, the southern tower was probably taller than it is today, measuring about 18 meters in height.
HIPOTHETICAL PLAN OF THE UPPER AND FARMYARD ACCORDING TO B. WASIK
THE TOURNAMENT COURTYARD IS LOCATED ON THE SITE OF THE FORMER FARMYARD
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odernization of the castle from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries completely changed the character of its interiors and exterior design. Gothic gables were then replaced with one-pitched copper roofs, which were finished with a
late Renaissance attic and
four corner turrets. A layout and decoration of most of piano nobile rooms were modified, with a new Renaissance staircase leading to them. Castle windows became rectangular in shape, and its exterior walls received sgraffito type decorations. The Gothic building at the gate (known as the commandant's house) was also rebuilt, receiving a new window layout and a circular stair turret. In addition, gardens were established on the slopes of the castle hill, where Anna Vasa probably spent a lot of time cultivating her botanical and herbal interests.
A FRAGMENT OF THE SOUTHERN AND WESTERN ELEVATIONS WITH SOME FEATURES INTRODUCED
DURING THE XVII CENTURY REDESIGNING OF THE CASTLE: 1. LATE RENAISSANCE ATTIC, 2. CORNER TURRETS,
3. NEW WINDOWS, 4. STAIRCASE IN THE SO CALLED COMMANDANT'S HOUSE
olub-Dobrzyń has become famous for international knightly tournaments arranged at the castle since the 1970s, and although their rank has been declining steadily recently, it should be remembered that it was here that the tradition of knightly competition was revived, which undoubtedly gave a stimulus to formation and development of knightly brotherhoods in Poland. Currently, the castle serves as a hotel and restaurant, and this is its primary business profile. To some extent, it can also be visited by tourists.
COPIES OF XVII CENTURY CANNONS STANDING AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE CASTLE
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rom outside, the castle looks great, thanks not only to the well-kept façade, but also to the neat surroundings and impressive tournament courtyard. The tour is accompanied by a guide, who unfortunately turned out to be not very competent and generally gave the impression of being an amateur. Her level of knowledge and eloquence were so bad that after a few minutes people just stopped listening. The beginning of the tour also turned out to be not very interesting: first we were shown a bland film, followed by an overview of replica torture devices, as in many other castles. Boring. The most interesting thing here was the room itself, as the exposition was placed in basements of the south wing, where many Gothic details have been preserved, giving an idea of the original look of the castle interiors in Middle Ages. Then we walked to the vaulted room on the ground floor with an ethnographic exhibition illustrating the achievements of folk culture of Chełmno and Dobrzyń land.
IN THE CASTLE CELLARS
ETHNOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION IN THE SOUTH WING
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hen we head to the first floor of the north wing, to the dormitory, where an interesting
archaeological exhibition was arranged, summarizing the results of research carried out at the site of the former stronghold in Kałdus near Chełmno. For me, this is the brightest part of the tour. From here we move on to the chapel, the only place on the first floor that has retained its original Gothic character, highlighted by three tall pointed windows and
starry vaults spanning overhead. This is one of the few places in the castle where you can still feel the austere atmosphere of Middle Ages.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXHIBITION
IN THE CASTLE CHAPEL
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ext we go to the infirmary, and from there - to
the chapterhouse, where the only thing that attracts our attention is a pathetic portrait of the former manager of the castle, Zbigniew Kwiatkowski, called here "the castellan". This portrait is an awful example of kitsch and trash, and should be removed from here as soon as possible.
PORTRAIT OF MR KWIATKOWSKI, NO COMMENT NEEDED
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ummary: For a mass tourist, the castle does not have much to offer. Most of the exhibitions are uninteresting, and the standard of guide service leaves much to be desired. The overall negative assessment is also influenced by the fact that admission tickets are quite expensive.
GOTHIC PORTAL IN THE CASTLE CHAPEL
Admission to the museum paid, to the courtyard (as far as I remember) - free
Tour time: approximately 45 minutes
Taking amateur photos allowed
No pets allowed
GETTING THERE
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olub-Dobrzyń is situated about halfway between Toruń and Brodnica - access from Toruń is via national road 15 in the direction of Kowalewo Pomorskie; in Kowalewo you need to take the provincial road 554. There is no railway in the town.
A very large paid parking lot near the castle
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. W. Antkowiak, P. Lamparski: Zamki i strażnice krzyżackie..., Graffiti BC 1999
2. M. Haftka: Zamki krzyżackie w Polsce, 1999
3. L. Kajzer, J. Salm, S. Kołodziejski: Leksykon zamków w Polsce, Arkady 2001
4. P. Lasek: Prywatne zamki polskich dowódców z czasów wojny trzynastoletniej, Kom. Maz-Warm. 2/2017
5. M. Pratat, K. Zimna-Kawecka: Konserwatorskie i społeczne aspekty ochrony ruin zamków...
6. R. Sypek: Zamki i obiekty warowne Państwa Krzyżackiego, Agencja CB 2000
7. B. Wasik: Zamki pokrzyżackie w województwie chełmińskim..., Wiadomości Konserwatorskie 41/2015
8. A. Wagner: Murowane budowle obronne w Polsce X-XVIIw., Bellona 2019
9. P. Zaniewski: Szlakami zamków krzyżackich, Sport i Turystyka - MUZA SA 2005
Castles nearby: Kowalewo Pomorskie - relics of Teutonic castle from the 13th century, 12 km Radziki Duże - ruins of a knight's castle from the 14th/15th century, 18 km Wąbrzeźno - relics of bishop's castle from the 14th century, 24 km Brodnica - ruins of Teutonic castle from the 14th century, 30 km Złotoria - ruins of royal castle from the 14th century, 33 km Toruń - ruins of Teutonic castle from the 13th century, 36 km Toruń - ruins of royal castle Dybów from the 15th century, 37 km
Anna Vasa was born on May 17, 1568 at
