The Royal Castle in Łęczyca

Łęczyca, Poland, Poland

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The Royal Castle in Łęczyca is a Gothic ruin in central Poland's Łódź Voivodeship, constructed between 1357 and 1370 by King Casimir the Great on a hill overlooking the Bzura River valley as a quadrangular fortress with thick brick walls up to 2 meters thick, corner buttresses, a prominent square main tower over 23 meters tall, and a gate tower serving royal residences and administrative functions.

Burned by Teutonic Knights in 1406 and rebuilt for a 1409 war council, it was reinforced in the 16th century by starosts like Mikołaj Russocki and Jan Lutomirski with a "New House," strengthened walls for artillery, and Renaissance attics before Swedish destruction during the 1655 Deluge and 1707 Northern War left it in decay.

Partially reconstructed in the 20th century with neo-Gothic elements on its original footprint, it now features a museum amid preserved remnants like vaulted cellars and offers panoramic views tied to local legends of the devil Boruta.