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Niedzica Castle – the fortified castle picturesquely located on a
rock above the Dunajec river was erected in the first part of the 14th
century by the offspring of Hungarian family Berzevicza that was owning the
lands at those times. The castle was extended in the 15th, 16th,
and 18th century by the next Hungarian owners of Niedzica. Nowadays,
there are only ruins from the Gothic castle. However, some parts of the castle
have survived: the prison cells, private chambers, and the part of a painting
from the castle shrine presenting the Crucifixion of the Christ. The latter
buildings make a complex with a courtyard surrounded by private apartments with
roofed porches, towers and fortified walls. In 1963 after the renovation the
castle was opened to tourists.
Museum
in Niedzica collects archaeological artifacts from the castle, relics of the
castle interior design, prints and engravings presenting the castle in variou
periods, and historical documentation. In the museum's collection there are
many ethnographic exhibits from the Spisz region, among them an interesting
collection of antique clocks. Due to the Hungarian ancestry of the castle,
Akos Engelmayer – in 1990 – 1995 the Hungarian ambassador in Poland donated his
collection of Hungarian – related items such as: maps of Hungary made in 16th
- 20th centuries, engravings depicting Hungarian kings, castles,
cities, battle fields etc. - which is expected to become the largerst collection
of Hungarian – related items outside of Hungary.
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