Sokolec Castle, Castle ruin in Karpniki, Poland
Sokolec Castle is a ruined hilltop stronghold on Krzyżna Góra near the village of Karpniki, in the Rudawy Janowickie range of the Western Sudetes, Lower Silesian Voivodeship. Only traces of its walls remain on the summit. The small local fortress was first mentioned in 1364 and destroyed in the second half of the 15th century, in 1460 or 1475.
Sokolec Castle was probably built in the 14th century as a small local stronghold and is first mentioned in 1364. It was destroyed in the second half of the 15th century, in 1460 or 1475, and has remained a ruin since. In 1850 Rozalia Saulsonowa, in the first Polish guide to the Karkonosze, noted that traces of its walls survived, though she dated the castle to 1207–1458.
The castle's name, Sokolec, comes from the Polish word for falcon (sokół), and the hill it stands on is called Krzyżna Góra. In 1850 Rozalia Saulsonowa described the surviving wall traces in her guidebook "Warmbrunn i okolice jego", regarded as the first Polish guide to the Karkonosze. She dated the castle's existence to 1207–1458, dates whose origin is unknown.
The castle is a ruin on Krzyżna Góra near Karpniki, in the Rudawy Janowickie range. There are no information panels or marked visitor facilities; access is by hiking trails. The site lies on a hill, so expect uneven ground and a climb.
Rosalia Saulsonowa's 1850 guidebook, the first Polish guide to the Karkonosze, mentions the castle ruins and gives dates of 1207 to 1458 for the stronghold on this hill; where she took those two precise figures is unknown.
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