Ciechanów – Ciechanów Castle

I love a castle and this one is a suitably imposing one. Located in the Mazovian Voivodeship of Poland, Ciechanów Castle remains as something of a testament to the region’s rich and tumultuous past, despite most of the interior of the structure having been entirely lost.

There was a friendly welcome when I entered the ticket office and the staff member explained that the card machines were down and so they couldn’t charge me, but it’s usually around the equivalent of £3 to enter. Everything is done by an audio app which can be downloaded and this was one of the better ones that I’ve used. For anyone who wants to, the audio guide that I listened to is available for free on the Movi Guide app. I can’t imagine that anyone will want to listen to an audio guide of a castle they haven’t been to, but you never know…

I think that I had expected a little more of the interior to have survived given the exterior. The first mention of a castle in Ciechanów dates back to the thirteenth century and it was likely a wooden structure built to defend the growing town against threats from the Teutonic Order. In the fourteenth century, during the reign of King Casimir the Great, the wooden fortifications were replaced with a more substantial stone castle and this helped to transform the town into something of a regional stronghold. The fourteenth century castle likely followed the architectural trends of the time, with thick stone walls, a central keep and defensive towers.

The interior was extensively renovated around ten years ago and there’s a museum in each of the two towers, so there’s plenty to see during a visit and that’s helped by the audio guide. I usually hate audio guides as I can’t work out where I am or it automatically starts playing something else which is about 45 minutes long. But, this was a rather decent guide and added positively to my visit.

I’m impressed that the exterior walls have held up as by the nineteenth century the building had fallen out of use and had fallen into disrepair.

The walkway between the two towers.

There’s plenty of evidence of where the internal walls used to be and what looks to be the only door to the exterior is actually the former toilet.

The second tower.

The surrounding area.

I was pleased to come down this way rather than go up, but I was brave coming down despite my fear of heights.

The rear section of the castle, with some of the few remaining walls.

The toilet door I mentioned earlier is on the top left.

The visitor centre has an exhibition as well on the archaeological finds in the local area, all nicely laid out.

The memorial to the hanged members of the Polish Home Army, which I’ve written about separately.

There are a couple of separate posts about the castle I’ll need to make (as I’m like that) but I thought that this was all really well done. I can’t imagine they ever get huge numbers of visitors and it was very quiet when I was there, although a school party were just leaving. The welcome was friendly, the prices are affordable (when their machines are working) and it’s worth a 90 minute or so visit. Really all rather lovely.