Castle in Ostrów Tumski, Wrocław, Medieval castle in Ostrów Tumski, Wrocław, Poland
The castle in Ostrów Tumski is a medieval fortress with foundations of an octagonal structure buried beneath the Notre Dame Sisters Convent on Saint Martin Street. Adjacent ruins of supporting buildings remain visible, showing the scale of the original ducal residence.
The fortress transformed in 1163 when Prince Bolesław the Tall returned from serving Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and rebuilt it as a brick residence. This shift from wood to stone marked a new era of permanent, fortified rule in the region.
The fortress was home to Silesian Piast rulers who used it to display both their worldly power and religious devotion through its design. The sacred buildings and ducal residence stood together to show how the princes saw themselves as both temporal and spiritual leaders.
The remains sit beneath the convent in the old town on Ostrów Tumski island, directly by the Oder river. To see these ruins, you need to arrange a guided tour in advance by calling ahead.
The octagonal base of the structure is unusual and scholars still debate whether it served as a chapel or a duke's residential tower. This rare shape makes the ruins one of Wrocław's most enigmatic medieval remains.
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