he oldest fortified settlement in P³oty was a 13th-century wooden borough erected in the northern part of the present town, in a bend of the Reda River. According to some historians, a trade settlement developed near it, which is why the area was later called the old town. In all probability, however, it should be assumed that this stronghold either functioned for a very short time or was not completed at all. This is because the then owner of these lands, the knight of the Pomeranian duke Dubislaus of Otok, already in the middle of the 13th century moved the settlement several hundred meters to the south, where he began building a brick tower.
THE DEFENSIVE NATURE OF THE SITE IS EVIDENCED BY AN EARTHEN MOUND AND A MOAT (PARTIALLY PRESERVED)
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he tower was probably built around 1280, but by the mid-1280s, after the end of the Pomeranian-Brandenburg War, it had already passed under the control of the Brandenburg rulers of the Ascan dynasty. In documents it was then listed as Castrum Plote dicti. One of the margraves, presumably
Otto IV. mit dem Pfeil (d. 1308), soon handed the castle over to his loyal fiefs, Ludwig I von Wedel and his brothers, and they replaced its wooden and earthen fortifications with a stone defensive wall, which is believed to have been done before 1290.
Former place names: Plotte, Plote, Plot, Plota, Plate, Platow, Plath and Plathe.
THE STONE GRIFFINS STANDING IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE COME FROM ...THE BRIDGE IN GRYFICE
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he Wedels' rule in P³oty did not last long, however, because as early as 1295 the town came under the dominion of the Pomeranian dukes, and then was given to Rügen knight Johannes de Heyderbreke dictus de Plota. The Heydebrek family probably held sway here until 1325, when the duchy was unified. Later the castle frequently changed hands - in 1325-67 it belonged to a representative of the von Blankenburg, von Plötz, von Eberstein and von Troyen families. Relative stability was brought to the town only under Henrik von der Osten (from 1367), who initiated a two-century-long period of fief ownership by him and his descendants. Since the von Ostens were engaged in a private war over land with the Grafs von Eberstein, they raised the castle walls to a height of 6 meters to strengthen its defense.
WESTERN PART OF THE CASTLE WITH A MEDIEVAL FORTIFICATION WALL
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t the beginning of the 15th century, P³oty belonged to Heinrich von der Osten, called the Younger of the East (d. 1421), and then to his son Dinnies von der Osten (d. 1477), nicknamed the White Knight. However, he shared the right to the tower with his brother Wedige, who owned 1/4 of the castle and the entire lower town. In 1463 von der Osten gave military support to Bishop Hennig Iven of Kamenz (who waged war against the city of Ko³obrzeg), and as a consequence his castle in P³oty was attacked by Ko³obrzeg's army, which captured and burned it in 1465. Further damage was done here in 1473 by armed troops of the Eberstein family from Nowogard, with whom, as I have already mentioned, the von der Osten family fought battles for land and influence. Soon after these events, the owners rebuilt the tower and even expanded it by adding a building in the southern part of the courtyard.
P£OTY ON LITHOGRAPH BY E. SANNE FROM 1846, IN THE BACKGROUND WE CAN SEE THE OLD CASTLE
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n 1577 Wedige von der Osten (d. 1594), due to his difficult financial situation, sold the castle and half the town to Hermann von Blücher of Demmin for 40,000 thalers. An inventory of the entire estate was drawn up at the conclusion of the sale contract, which allows us to learn more about the economic background of the castle at the time. Indeed, we know from the documents that a stable, a bakery, a brewery, a cowshed and a mill operated in the farmyard. Three years later von Blücher partially demolished the old Gothic tower and, using its lower walls, erected a comfortable Renaissance family seat. The castle thus lost most of its defensive features, becoming simply a comfortable noble residence.
VIEW OF THE OLD CASTLE FROM THE NORTHEAST, E. SANNE 1846
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fter leaving the old tower, the von der Osten family settled in the eastern part of the town, where, at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, they erected a new residence, henceforth known as the New Castle (this building is situated only 200 meters from the Old Castle). The division of P³oty between the two families caused numerous quarrels, which weakened the von Blücher family's financial condition. The feuds between the neighboring families ceased around 1719, after Matthias Conrad von der Osten (d. 1748) married the heiress to the von Blücher estate, Clara Sophia (d. 1721 at the age of just 20), and the divided estate was merged. Much earlier, however, in the middle of the 17th century, the Imperial and Swedish armies stationed in P³oty several times, having a disastrous effect not only on the economic situation of the town but also on the castle itself, which was then looted and devastated.
SITE PLAN OF THE NEW (ON THE LEFT) AND OLD CASTLE (ON THE RIGHT), 1740
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n 1761 Prince
Mikhail Volkonsky, a lieutenant general of the tsarist army, was stationed at the castle. The stay of him and his staff caused so much damage to the interiors that the von der Ostens abandoned its use, and from then on the castle stood empty falling into ruin. In the 1840s, the then owners gave the neglected building for use to a local society for the care of poor children, but the organization functioned here only for a short time, as the edifice burned down as early as 1860.
RUINED CASTLE ON POSTCARDS FROM THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY
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fter the fire, the ruin of the burned castle was covered with a provisional roof, while the windows were secured with boards. Thus, it continued to deteriorate, and its condition became even worse with the artillery shelling of Soviet troops in the spring of 1945. When one of the corners of the building collapsed (1956), a decision was made to rebuild the historic edifice for cultural purposes. As a result of the works carried out in 1957-67, the castle gained a form reminiscent of the Renaissance period. After their completion, it served as a subsidiary of a state archive (until 2009) and as a town library.
VIEW OF THE OLD CASTLE FROM THE NORTH, CONDITION IN 1930 AND 2022
he oldest, 13th-century castle was a residential tower, built on a hill and surrounded by a wooden palisade and a moat. It had a rectangular plan with sides of 12.7x17 meters, and its structure presumably included four floors, the lowest of which was built of boulders and the others were made of brick. Communication between floors was provided by a staircase hidden in the thickness of the wall. After 1284, the wooden fortifications were replaced by a stone and brick wall, which, after changes made at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, enclosed a rectangular courtyard measuring 27x38 meters.
PLAN OF THE CASTLE FROM THE EARLY XIV CENTURY
MEDIEVAL FORTIFICATION WALL
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round 1540 the von der Ostens erected a three-story residential building, connected to the tower. Its lowest floor was occupied by a representative hall with a cross vault supported by a single pillar. Above it, there were shooting holes and a bay window, based on carved stone corbels and covered with a crystal vault.
RENAISSANCE WING
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t the end of the 16th century, the von Blüchers partially demolished the medieval tower to erect a staircase in its place, with an entrance leading to the representative Knights' Hall, and further to a kitchen. As a consequence of these changes, the edifice received the form of a two-story main wing with a tower and a lower southwest wing (demolished in the 18th century), which presumably housed a chapel. At that time, the building received larger windows, its loopholes were bricked up, and the exterior facades were given a uniform architectural decor in the late Renaissance style.
THE MAIN WING OF THE CASTLE WITH A STAIRCASE BUILT WITH THE USE OF THE MEDIEVAL WALLS (1)
AND BAY WINDOW IN THE EASTERN ELEVATION (2), CONDITION IN 1912 (CASTLE IN RUINS)
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he Knights' Hall, located on the ground floor, with a two-bay vault supported by a central Tuscan column, served as the representative room of the castle. This chamber, like the castle's other major interiors, was equipped with a massive fireplace and solid woodwork, while its walls featured colorful polychromy. At the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, the tower was raised by two stories, and the entire building received Baroque decor. On the top floor of the tower a richly decorated room was arranged, with access only from the attic. Historians speculate that this unusual layout indicates that the room may have served as a meeting place for some secret organization, to which one of the owners may have belonged.
THE KNIGHT'S HALL, 1938
GROUND FLOOR PLAN OF THE CASTLE: 1. STAIRCASE, 2. KNIGHT'S HALL, 3. RISALIT, 4. BAY WINDOW
he current appearance of the castle is somewhat eclectic and results from transformations and changes repeatedly carried out here from the 13th to the 18th century. Of the oldest, medieval tower, only the lower floors and a fragment of the stone perimeter wall have survived to our day. Partially reconstructed interiors also retain pieces of Renaissance stonework and antique fireplaces. The castle in P³oty now serves as a town library.
The castle is not a tourist facility and cannot be visited. The rules of admission and staying here are the same as in any other library.
To thoroughly explore the building from the outside we need about 20 minutes.
There are quite a lot of green areas in the vicinity of the castle - the place is suitable for walking the dog.
OLD CASTLE IN P£OTY, EAST AND NORTH ELEVATION
GETTING THERE
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he castle is located in the southern part of the town, on I Armii Wojska Polskiego Street. It is 1.2 km away from the railway station.
No parking place at the castle. The car can be parked on Zamkowa Street or in the town.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. A. Janowski, M. Rêbkowski: Ceramika Saintonge z siedziby rycerskiej w P³otach, Gemma Gemarum 2017
2. L. Kajzer, J. Salm, S. Ko³odziejski: Leksykon zamków w Polsce, Arkady 2001
3. Z. Radacki: Zamek w P³otach, Ziemia Gryficka, T 2
4. K. Stêpiñska: Pa³ace i zamki w Polsce dawniej i dzi¶, KAW 1977
5. A. Wagner: Murowane budowle obronne w Polsce X-XVIIw., Bellona 2019
6. Gminny program opieki nad zabytkami na lata 2018 – 2022, Dz. Urz. Wojew. Zachodniopomorsk., 2018
7. Various authors: P³oty – per³a Pomorza Zachodniego, Urz±d Miejski w P³otach
Castles nearby: Resko - relics of a knight's castle from the 14th century, 10 km
Golczewo - relics of a 13th-century bishops' castle, 22 km
Nowogard - relics of a 13th-century ducal castle, 23 km
Buk - relics of a knight's castle from the 14th century, 27 km
Strzmiele - fortified mansion from the 16th century, rebuilt, 29 km
Dobra - ruins of a knight's castle from the 14th century, 32 km ¦widwin - Gothic castle from the 13th-15th centuries, 37 km
WORTH SEEING:
The von der Osten palace, known as the New Castle, built in 1606-18 just 200 meters east of the Old Castle. Over the following centuries, it went through numerous modernizations, and its current appearance was given by German architect Paul Korff, who in 1910-12 rebuilt the residence in a neo-Baroque style. The von der Osten family owned the estate until the end of the 19th century, and then it passed to the von Bismarck-Osten family. After World War II, the New Castle was nationalized, and an agricultural school and later a boarding school were placed in it.
NEW CASTLE, GATEWAY
NEW CASTLE, WEST ELEVATION
The palace consists of two main parts: a Renaissance one from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, and a neo-Baroque tower and northern building erected in the 20th century. It is a three-winged edifice on an irregular C-shaped plan, with a risalit tower on the side of the courtyard and a two-story terrace on the side of the park. The tombstone of Wedige von der Osten (d. 1594) and his wife Anna von Massow (d. 1573) and the foundation plate of the New Castle (1910) have been preserved on the facades of the buildings. The residence includes a neo-Baroque gateway with outbuildings, as well as a large park, in the central part of which a tomb of the former owners has survived.
NEO-BAROQUE PART OF THE NEW CASTLE / EPITAPH OF WEDIGE VON DER OSTEN AND HIS WIFE
Currently (2022) the palace is not used (one wing probably inhabited). It can be viewed from the outside. The park is neglected.
