Zamek w Ćmielowie

Ćmielów, Poland, Poland

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Zamek w Ćmielowie is a Renaissance castle ruin in the town of Ćmielów, located in southeastern Poland's Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship along the Kamienna River valley.

First documented around 1388 with possible earlier medieval defenses nearby, the current structure was built between 1519-1531 by Chancellor Krzysztof Szydłowiecki of the Odrowąż clan on the site of a 15th-century motte-and-bailey manor, featuring a rectangular layout with a gate tower, curtain walls, and residential wings.

Passing through noble families like Tarnowskis, Ostrogskis, Wiśniowieckis, Lubomirskis, and Sanguszkos, it endured a 1657 Cossack siege during the Swedish Deluge and suffered severe damage in the 1702 Great Northern War, leading to partial dismantling, conversion of the outer bailey into a brewery around 1800, and eventual decay into picturesque remnants.