Checiny Castle

The royal castle in Checiny is a pearl of Sandomierz and Świętokrzyskie region. The monumental and unapproachable fortress was built at the end of the 13th century and throughout the centuries it was the county seat, royal treasury, heavy state prison and the residence of the royal widows. 

The Checiny Castle was built at the end of the 13th century and its construction was related to the exploitation of the nearby ore resources. During the Wladyslaw the Short’s reign in the castle were held the conventions of the knights and important state decisions were taken. At this time the castle kept the crown treasury. The Checiny castle also served as a residence and a state prison, for instance the princess Adelaide, the second barren wife of the Casimir the Great was exiled here by the dissapointed husband. In 1409 also Warcislaw of Gotartowice was imprisoned in the castle for his cowardice – too quick surrender of the Bobrowniki Castle to the Teutonic Knights. The destruction of the medieval castle begun in the 17th century: castle was burned during the rebellion of Mikołaj Zebrzydowski and totally plundered by Swedes. Since then the walls of the medieval fortress served as a source of building materials for the local inhabitants. The final blow to the castle striked the austrian artillery, which demaged boht towers during the World War I.

There is also a legend which tells about the White Lady – the spirit of Queen Bona, who once lived here with her enormous wealth. When she was leaving the castle she couldn’t take everything and to this day the Queen comes here every night looking for the hidden treasury.