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CASTLE ROGOWIEC, THE REMAINS OF THE LAST DEFENSE TOWER
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T
he beginnings of Rogowiec castle probably date back to the last two decades of the 13th century and are commonly associated with the foundation of
Bolko I Surowy (the Stern) (d. 1301), the ruler of Duchy of Świdnica and Jawor. Situated high in the mountains on a hard to reach rock, the defensive system was to serve to strengthen the supreme authority in very sparsely populated mountain areas; together with the fortresses of Grodno, Nowy Dwór and Radosno it also formed a line of fortifications along the southern, still then conventional, border of the principality. It is worth mentioning that in the Middle Ages a trade route from Świdnica to Bohemian Nachod led along the valley of River Rybna near the fortress. Its mountain part, called the Upper Road, led through the Wałbrzyskie and Owl Mountains, and further through the Dry Mountains, the Three Valleys Pass to Mieroszów, so we can assume with high probability that the nearby castles (Grodno, Radosno, Rogowiec) were also used to secure or even control traffic on this route. In documents of the Cistercian monastery in Krzeszów, from 1292, a record was preserved, which mentions Reinsko Schwenckenfeldt as the ruling Hornberch Castellanus. It is the oldest known source of information about the castle Rogowiec.
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CASTLE MOUNTAIN WITH RUINS OF ROGOWIEC, L. RICHTER'S INTAGLIO FROM THE 40S XIX CENTURY
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SNIEŻKA VIEW FROM THE CASTLE MOUNTAIN, F. VOGEL'S DRAWING FROM 1850
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A
t the beginning of 14th century the fortress was probably captured and for some time kept by robber knights. In 1353, however, it certainly belonged to the prince, as in that year at the convention in Vienna, the then ruling
Bolko II Mały (the Small) (d. 1368) wrote it down to his niece Anna świdnicka (d. 1362), married to the Czech king
Karol IV (d. 1378). In her name the castle was managed by princely courtiers, among others, in the years 1361-1374 the castellan of Rogowiec was the chambermaster of the Świdnica manor Nicolaus de Bolcze from the family of the owners of the castle Bolczów in Rudawy Janowickie. In 1392, after death of the widow of Bolko, Princess Agnieszka, the castle came under Czech rule, and lost its strategic significance. It was soon handed over as a fief to the private hands of the knightly families. During the Hussite wars it was captured and devastated, and later managed by Franz von Pogarell and the infamous brothers Hans and Nikolaus Schellendorf, the owners of the castles Książ and Radosno, repeatedly accused of armed raids and attacks on merchant convoys. Their presence may be associated with certain investments that have been made at the castle hill in order to increase the defense of the fortress, but today we are not able to clearly determine the nature and scale of the work carried out at that time. Rogowiec remained in the hands of Schellendorfs until its fall in 1482 (or 1497), when, as a result of numerous complaints about the robbery of its inhabitants, it fell under the pressure of a retaliatory expedition led by the royal troops commanded by George von Stein (d. 1497). Perhaps a firearm was used to conquer the castle, what is indicated by fragments of cannonballs and cannons discovered during archaeological excavations. Destroyed fortress was dismantled in the following years by the local inhabitants and over time it fell into complete ruin. From the 16th century, the surrounding area and the castle were the property of the Hobergs (the Hochberg) family from Książ, who bought them from the Czech king
Władysław Jagiellończyk for 600,000 Czech groschen.
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A RUIN ON A POSTCARD FROM 1898
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GREETINGS FROM ROGOWIEC, 1909
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THE NAMING OF THE CASTLE IN THE PAST
* 1292, Hornberch Castellanus
* 1318, Hornsburg
* 1392, Domschloss, Heinzetempel
* 1747, Horn Schloss
* 1825, Hornschloss
* 1918, Hornberg
* 1945, Rogowiec
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ROGOWIEC VIEW FROM JELENIEC MOUNTAIN (902 M ABOVE SEA LEVEL)
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VIEW ON THE RYBNICKI GRZBIET AND BOROWA, THE HIGHEST PEAK OF THE WAŁBRZYSKIE MOUNTAINS
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T
he castle was built of crushed, untreated stone on a rocky hill 870 metres above sea level. Its oldest part is the upper castle located on the top of the hill, built on a rectangular plan with sides 20x30 meters, in the western part of which stood a cylindrical tower of last defense, so called bergfried, with a diameter of about 10 meters and the thickness of the ground walls exceeding 3.5 meters. The living space was formed by a two-winged building occupying the south-eastern part of the castle, measuring 10x17 meters. It based on a curtain which was the eastern part of fortifications, whose walls ranged from 1 meter thick over the western abyss to 2.5 meters thick in the other sections. In the 14th century, a new 7x15-metre building was erected on the site of a dismantled eastern house. The building could have had a timber framing on the courtyard side and a cylindrical staircase located near the north-eastern corner of the castle. Perhaps at the same time the hillside was fortified by two towers and a small gate tower in its southern sector. The last phase of the castle's development probably took place in the middle of 15th century and resulted in demolition of a residential building and its replacement with a tower with external dimensions of 9.2 x 11 meters. The cubic capacity of the southern gate tower was almost doubled and the whole castle was surrounded by a second line of stone fortifications.
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THE PLAN OF THE CASTLE RUINS: 1. UPPER CASTLE, 2. CYLINDRICAL TOWER, 3. RESIDENTIAL HOUSE,
4. XIV-CENTURY RESIDENTIAL TOWER, 5. GATE TOWER, 6. LOWER CASTLE
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A walk to the castle ruins can only be enjoyable for dogs that like to go on long and strenuous hikes. Small and less hardy dogs will hate you for it. I don't remember any stream flowing along the way, so it is mandatory to bring water with you.
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The Rogowiec peak and its closest surroundings (if the conditions are appropriate) are perfect for taking bird's eye shots.
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ON THE TOP OF ROGOWIEC MOUNTAIN
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R
ogowiec is located on a narrow forested mountain isthmus rising steeply above the valley of the River Rybna separating the Wałbrzyskie Mountains from the Kamienne Mountains, about 1.5 km west of Grzmiąca village. There are several alternative ways to get there and enjoy a pleasant walk. The yellow trail leads from Wałbrzych to the blue trail on the Kozia Pass. It is an easy road, also suitable for mountain bikes, except for a long, steep descent into the Rybna valley, requiring strong legs and hands. Time of the walk: about 2.5 hours. From Jedlina Zdrój leads the red trail, also mild, in the final stage it connects with the blue trail and from this point the difficulty level increases slightly. About 3 km west of the castle there is a popular hostel called Andrzejówka - there are a blue, red and yellow trails leading from there. This is definitely the easiest and most popular road. (map of castles)
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I recommend to leave the car at Andrzejówka mountain hostel, about 1-1.5 h walk from Rogowiec. The road to Andrzejówka leads through a quarry and can be closed at certain times for safety reasons.
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Cyclists starting from Wałbrzych can take the yellow trail through Wałbrzyskie Mountains and then the blue trail. While the first part of this route is not very challenging, at the end you will probably have to carry the bike on your back. For the less ambitious I recommend to choose the asphalt road (no 35) to Andrzejówka, and from there to take the yellow trail - the least attractive, but relatively the easiest. The bike should of course be suitable for mountain riding.
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1. M. Chorowska: Rezydencje średniowieczne na Śląsku, OFPWW 2003
2. L. Kajzer, J. Salm, S. Kołodziejski: Leksykon zamków w Polsce, Arkady 2001
3. J. Lamparska: Zamkowe tajemnice, Asia-Press 2009
4. R. Łuczyński: Chronologia dziejów Dolnego Śląska, Atut 2006
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A VIEW FROM ROGOWIEC ON THE LANDSCAPE PARK 'SUDETY WALBRZYSKIE'
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Castles nearby:
Rybnica Leśna - the ruins of castle Radosno from 14th century, 4 km
Walbrzych - the remains of castle Nowy Dwór from 14th century, 10 km
Zagorze Slaskie - the ruins of a duke's castle Grodno from 14th-16th century, 15 km
Grzedy - the remains of a duke's castle Konradów from 14th century, 20 km
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text: 2019
photographs: 2007, 2018
© Jacek Bednarek
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