Located in southern Poland, on the central section of the Vistula River, the small town Baranów Sandomierski, first mentioned in 1135, was an important center of Calvinism during the Protestant Reformation, and experienced a short period of prosperity before the catastrophic Swedish invasion of Poland (1655 - 1660), when was ransacked and burned. It is well known for its picturesque Renaissance castle, surnamed as "little Wawel". Built around 1591-1606 for Andrzej and Rafał Leszczyński in Poland's Mannerism style, it is the work of the famous architect Santi Gucci, the court artist of King Sigismund II Augustus.
In 1620 the castle was surrounded by bastion fortifications and in 1625 its chambers were adorned with early Baroque decorations. On the end of the 17th century it came into the possession of the Lubomirski family. Prince Józef Karol Lubomirski added the western wing gallery and embellished the interiors with profuse late-baroque stucco decorations. The gallery housed their collection of art, destroyed in massive fires, first in 1848 and finally in 1898. Then the structure was restored by Stanisław Dolański, under the direction of the Cracovian architect Tadeusz Stryjeński. The Chapel was decorated with the impressive stained-glass windows of Józef Mehoffer as well as an altar with the exceptional painting by Jacek Malczewski "Immaculate Mother of God". It remained in the possession of the Dolański family till the outbreak of WWII.
About the stamps
The first stamp (which is also on the second stamp), depicting All Saints Collegiate Church in Sieradz, is part of the series Polish Cities, about which I wrote here.
The second stamp depicts the wonderful world of Disney and was issued on June 1st, 2013.
References
Baranów Sandomierski - Wikipedia
Baranów Sandomierski Castle - Wikipedia
Baranów Sandomierski Castle - Official website
sender 1, 2: Kazimierz Roman Leszczynski (direct swap)
sent from Baranów Sandomierski (Subcarpathia / Poland), on 13.06.2013
photo 1: J. Zmichowski
photo 2: Krzysztof Sliwa
I visited this castle last monday :-) There are realy beautifull gardens around castle :)
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