Papowo Biskupie Castle, Teutonic Order castle in Papowo Biskupie, Poland

Papowo Biskupie Castle is a stone fortress located on an artificial hill between two lakes in a rural setting. The remaining walls are built from granite stones and medieval bricks arranged in a rectangular layout that once housed multiple wings.

The fortress was built in 1287 by the Teutonic Knights as one of their first purpose-built commandry castles in the region. It served the order's efforts to control and settle the conquered territories during their expansion.

The castle's name comes from its later owners: in 1505 King Alexander Jagiellon granted it to the Bishop of Chełmno, Mikołaj Chrapicki, and his successors, and the bishops held the ruins until the First Partition of Poland in 1772. Visitors can still see the small window openings of the west wall, which has none at all, and the remains of the northern wing's inner walls.

You can visit the northern wing and fragments of the outer wall free of charge throughout the year without entry restrictions. The location is easily accessible for self-guided exploration in any season.

Papowo Biskupie Castle is the only Teutonic Order castle built entirely of fieldstone, not brick. Its walls of glacial erratic boulders and granite rise about 22 metres, and the main square measured 42 metres on each side. The small corner turrets and the absence of a central tower mark it as an early Kastellburg, possibly the first of its kind in the Order's state.