Castle in Zator

The Castle in Zator is in fact a palace that stands on the site of the former ducal castle. Today it is occupied by a research institution, so the interiors are accessible only by prior arrangement, and the park is open until dusk.

From the castle of the Dukes of Zator to a Neo-Gothic residence

The Gothic castle was built in the 14th century as the seat of the Dukes of Zator from the Upper Silesian line of the Piasts, and later of royal starosts. In 1494 King John Albert bought the duchy together with the castle. At the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century a rectangular palace was built beside it, and the old castle was demolished for building material. In 1836 Franciszek Maria Lanci rebuilt the palace in the Neo-Gothic style.

The building and interiors

It is a two-storey brick building on a rectangular plan, with a tower in a projection topped with a pyramidal roof and four turrets. Stuccowork from 1836, paintings in the Pompeian style and marble fireplaces have survived. The site is in the heritage register.

The castle today

After 1945 the castle was taken over by the authorities, and from 1946 it housed a fisheries experimental station. According to zabytek.pl, it is home to the research department of the Experimental Station of the Inland Fisheries Institute of Olsztyn. The seven-hectare park has more than a thousand trees, some of them older than two hundred years.

Practical information

• Address: plac Tadeusza Kościuszki 1, Zator.
• Entry to the castle by arrangement with the administrator, the park until dusk.
• Nearby: Zatorland (about 800 m) and Energylandia (about 2 km).