Golub – Dobrzyn castle

From the 18th century the town was divided into two separate settlements but the conspicuous symbol of its unity remained the Renaissance castle from the 13th century. The castle inhabited in the past by not so pretty queen Anna became the place where the Miss Poland beauty contests are held every year.

In the past the town was divided into two separate settlements, each one on the oposite side of the River Drweca which marked the border for many years. During the Partition Golub became a part of Prussia while its suburbs went to Russian zone and granted the town status as Dobrzyn. The towns’ reconnection took place in 1951. The history of the town and different cultural backgrounds are reflected by its current appearance and architecture. The Golub’s part is much more better preserved with the fragments of the medieval defensive walls and the 14th-century Gothic Church of St Catherine with the interesting Gothic Pieta (15th century). The greatest attraction of the town is the 13th-century large castle built by the Teutonic Knights. The castle of brick on the rectangle form is crowned with the Renaissance attic. From the 17th century it was a residence of the Queen Anna Vasa of Sweden, sister of king Zygmunt III Vasa. Although she belonged to the royal family she had never married. There is a legend which says that the ghost of Queen Anna appears here at every New Year’s ball. Unfortunately the castle was heavily destroyed during the Swedish Deluge and after its reconstruction in 1959-69 houses a regional museum.