1536 POLAND (Subcarpathia) - Dubiecko Castle

Dubiecko is a village located at 36km southeast of Rzeszów, in which is situated the castle with the same name, in nowadays became hotel. The building was the birthplace of Stanislaw Stadnicki (1551-1610), a nobleman known as troublemaker, called The Devil of Łańcut for his violent behaviour. Enemy of  Jan Zamoyski, Grand Chancellor of the Crown, in 1606 he became one of the leaders of the rokosz of Zebrzydowski. After his death, his family continued the "tradition", with his wife earning the nickname of The Łańcut Devil-woman and his sons, The Łancut Devil-children. He is one of the characters on the painting by Jan Matejko: Kazanie Skargi (The Sermon of Piotr Skarga).

0922, 0923, 1503 POLAND (Subcarpathia) - Tarnobrzeg

0922 - Tarnobrzeg - Square Bartosz Glowacki
The Dominican Church and Convent of Assumption of Mary

Posted on 29.12.2013, 28.03.2015

Founded in 1593, during the golden age of Poland, in the Sandomierz Basin, on the east bank of the river Vistula, to become the residence of the Tarnowski family, Tarnobrzeg remained a small town until the post-WWII period, when it became center of an industrial area, based on rich sulfur deposits. In 1772 it was incorporated in the Austrian Empire and remained in the province of Galicia until November 1918, when was declared the short-lived Republic of Tarnobrzeg. In 1919, the town became part of Lwow Voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic. Between 1975 and 1998 was the capital of Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship, since 1999 is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, and directly borders the town of Sandomierz.

0923 - Tarnobrzeg - Square Bartosz Glowacki
Statue of Bartosz Glowacki

The heart of the town is the Square Bartosz Glowacki. Until the 19th century the all buildings were made of wood, but in 1888 a fire destroyed almost the entire city, the houses being rebuilt with bricks. The Dominican Church and Convent of Assumption of Mary was founded in 1677. A year later the holy icon of Our Lady of Dzików was transferred from Dzików Castle to the monastery and since then the church became the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Dzików. Destroyed in 1703, was rebuilt in 1706, in Baroque style. Sometimes it's considered as the Our Lady of Tarnobrzeg or Queen of Sulfur Fields. In the north-eastern of the square is a statue of Bartosz Glowacki by Wladyslaw Korpal, erected on the initiative of the residents in 1904. In this way, the peasant became national hero in anti-Russian and anti-Prussian Kościuszko Uprising in 1794, has reached a sort of symbol of Tarnobrzeg, although in reality there is nothing to do with him.

1503 - Tarnobrzeg - Dzików Castle

 

Dzików Castle, or Tarnowski Family Castle in Dzików is a 15th-century (or perhaps a 14th-century) castle with the park complex and gardens. It was the site of Dzików Confederation of 5 November 1734, organized in order to reinstate Stanisław I Leszczyński as king of Poland after the death of August II the Strong. Over the years, the Tarnowski family acquired an impressive art collection housed in the Castle, which were, unfortunately, sold, seized, removed or lost in the 20th century. From 2007, the palace was under renovation, and in 2011, the ollections of the Historical Museum of the City of Tarnobrzeg was moved to the castle.

1042, 1043 POLAND (Subcarpathia) - Baranów Sandomierski Castle

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.