Castle in Iłża

At the turn of the 14th century in the area of the city presently known as "Old Town" there stood a wooden fortification - a seat of the Cracow bishops. Destroyed during war operations it was abandoned in the early 14th century and fell into ruin. The bishop Jan Grot raised a new stone castle on a neighbourning hill. It is presumable that the foundation consisted then of a cylindrical tower surrounded by outer walls with a gate on the west side.

In the course of time the castle underwent several reconstructions by successive bishops, e.g. Florian of Mokrsko, Jan Konarski, Filip Padniewski, Marcin Szyszkowski. It resulted in certain changes in the foundation character, which became a complex of the main castle set on a triangular plan and an outer castle adjacent to the main castle in the north. 

Drzeworyt według rysunku Fabiańskiego, Tygodnik Illustrowany 1862 ze zbiorów Biblioteki Instytutu Badań Literackich PAN

In the 15th century the entrance to the castle was across the bridge and then through a newly constructed fortified gate tower. In the 16th century it was transformed into a Renaissance residence. The majority of buildings joined to the outer walls was built then as well as the bastion fortifications which surrounded the outer castle. In the beginning of the 17th century the outer castle was modernized. In 1655 the castle was damaged by the Swedish army then the Rakoczy troops invaded the castle and caused even more damage. The castle was reconstructed by bishop Andrzej Trzebnicki in 1670. In 1788 the castle became a state property and then the process of its deterioration started. A fire in the early 19th century ended the story of destruction.