Siedlęcin Tower

Poland, Poland

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Siedlęcin Tower is a remarkably preserved 14th-century Gothic residential tower castle in the village of Siedlęcin, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, located beside the Bóbr River to guard a medieval trade route from Jelenia Góra to Wleń. Commissioned around 1313-1315 by Duke Henry I of Jawor of the Piast dynasty, this four-story stone structure—standing 33 meters tall with walls up to 3 meters thick—originally combined defensive, residential, and ceremonial functions, later raised by an extra floor in the 16th century and surrounded by a moat and outer fortifications. Its second-floor Great Hall boasts Poland's oldest secular frescoes from circa 1346, depicting chivalric scenes from the legend of Sir Lancelot du Lac—including his dragon fight and tournament triumphs—likely commissioned by Henry or his nephew Bolko II of Świdnica, offering rare insight into medieval knightly culture. Owned by various noble families like the Rederns and Schaffgotschs until 1945, it now functions as a museum showcasing original wooden ceilings and Gothic architecture amid the scenic Bóbr Valley Landscape Park.