Krasiczyn

The Castle which was located on the trade route Przemysl – Sanok is one of the most beautiful architectural treasures of the Renaissance-Mannerism in Poland. About the castle’s significance and splendor say the hosts who visited this place in the past: kings Zygmunt III Waza, Wladyslaw IV, Jan Kazimierz and August II.

The Krasiczyn Castle was built between 1592 and 1618 by Stanislaw Krasicki, castellan of Przewór from whose name the castle was called Krasiczyn. The next owner, Martin Krasicki expanded and transformed the harsh castle in a defensive residence. In the 19th century Krasiczyn was bought by the Sapieha family and in their hands survived until 1939. The polish cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha was even born here. The Sapiehas introduced also the custom of planting trees after the birth of each child: a son – oak, a daughter – lime. These trees grow so far in the 20 ha landscape park which surrounds the castle.
The castle has a form of an arcaded courtyard, with a tall clock tower over the gate and four cylindrical towers at the corners: the Divine Tower, the Royal Tower, the Papal Tower and the Tower of the Gentry topped with sword pommels. First of them contains a chapel with a rich interior decoration of stuccoes and paintings; the second one has a crown-shaped turret. The most interesting is the Papal Tower, which is crowned by a dome and ornamented with a parapet reflecting the papal tiara. The names of the towers were symbolising the eternal world order and marked the four levels in the authority’s hierarchy: the God, the Church, the monarchy and the nobility. The walls of the castle are covered by a sgraffito with the mythological scenes, portraits of the polish kings and nobles.