Kamieniec Ząbkowicki is a 19th century neo-Gothic castle, designed by the renowned architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel for the princess Marianne von Oranien-Nassau. Kamieniec Zabkowicki Castle is one of the most beautiful castles in Poland . It is situated in Lower Silesia, in the village of Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. Although designed by Schinkel, but most of the time, the building of the place was managed by a young architect, Ferdinand Martius. In 1848 the works on the castle were stopped because of the divorce of the princess but in 1853, were restarted. The lavish gardens and terraces were designed by Petera Josepha Lenné. In 1873, princess Marianne gave the palace to her son Albrechta. After the war the palace was severely damaged by the Russian Army and only in the 1980 its reconstruction started. Today, there is a restaurant and a hotel in the palace.

Kamieniec Zabkowicki Palace

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Renaissance mansion rebuilt from a Gothic castle between 1522 and 1532 during the reign of Charles I of Podebrady.

The history of the castle in Ząbkowice Śląskie dates back to the beginnings of the XIVth cent. The first mentions of the stronghold existing there originate from 1321, and duke Bernard of Świdnica is regarded as its builder. 15 years later the duke Bolko II of Ziębice pawned the town with the castle, whereas his son duke Nicholas the Small went even further and in 1351 sold a pawned estate to Charles IV. Then the castle belonged to the Luxembourg, and in Hussite wars' time was destroyed. In the second half of the XVth cent. the ruins became the Podiebradowicz family's property, who reinforced the castle. Construction works, however, did not help much, since in 1468 the stronghold was destroyed again, this time by the burghers of Wrocław. Subsequent destructions were brought by the siege and the conquest of the castle by Hungarian armies in 1489.

In the years of 1524-1532 on the remnants of the medieval castle arose the renaissance residence, the ruins of which you can admire at present. In the second half of the XVIth cent. the building gained the reinforcements, which, however, did not rescue it from destructions again, this time caused by thirty-years' war. Abandoned in 1728 the castle suffered from partial burning in 1784 and since then has remained in ruin.

Castle in Ząbkowice Śląskie

Krzywa wieża w Ząbkowicach Śląskich – średniowieczna krzywa wieża w Ząbkowicach Śląskich, która jest jedną z ciekawostek turystycznych Dolnego Śląska. Nazywana jest „śląską Pizą”. Jest to najwyższa krzywa wieża w Polsce – ma 34 m wysokości, a jej obecne odchylenie od pionu wynosi 2,14 m, a na jej szczyt wiedzie 139 schodów. Swoje święto obchodzi co roku w drugi weekend lipca (piątek – sobota) podczas „Dni i Nocy Krzywej Wieży” – kulturalno-rekreacyjnego wydarzenia, które ściąga turystów i gości na występy gwiazd polskiej muzyki, happeningi, wystawy, pokazy i inne atrakcje. Podczas imprezy Krzywą Wieżę można zwiedzać aż do godziny 00.00

Początki krzywej wieży nie są dziś znane z powodu braku źródeł pisanych. Kilku niemieckich badaczy twierdziło, że wieża jest pozostałością przedlokacyjnego zamku (tzw. Bergfried). Zamek ten miał zostać wzniesiony przez książąt świdnickich, a zniszczony przez wojska walczące z czeskim królem Jerzym z Podiebradów[potrzebny przypis]. O wiarygodności tej hipotezy świadczy to, że dolne partie murów (do wysokości 10 m) zbudowane są z kamienia i zaprawy wapiennej[1][4].

Niezwykle duża, przekraczająca 4 metry, grubość murów tej części wieży także zdaje się wskazywać na jej pierwotnie obronny charakter. Potwierdzają to także badania archeologiczne przeprowadzone w 1999 i 2000, w wyniku których przy ul. Długiej, na wysokości Krzywej Wieży, odsłonięto fragmenty muru kamienno-ceglanego.

Po przesunięciu murów miejskich, w XIV wieku powiększył się obszar zabudowany miasta. Z dawnej baszty postanowiono zrobić dzwonnicę kościoła parafialnego pw. św. Anny. Zakończenie budowy nastąpiło prawdopodobnie w 1413 roku. 24 sierpnia 1598 wieża przechyliła się o 1,5 m. Prawdopodobnie miały na to wpływ ruchy tektoniczne w pobliskim Bardzie lub też zwiększony ciężar nadbudowanej wieży. W 1858, kiedy całe miasto objął wielki pożar, wieża uległa znacznemu zniszczeniu, szczególnie w części szczytowej, i władze pruskie zamierzały ją rozebrać. Na szczęście władze miejskie były innego zdania i po długotrwałych zabiegach obiekt odbudowano. Dawne zwieńczenie w postaci blaszanego hełmu zastąpiono attyką w kształcie jaskółczych ogonów. W grudniu 2007 zakończył się gruntowny remont zewnętrznych ścian wieży.

Krzywa wieża jest dostępna dla zwiedzających, można ją zwiedzać: od 01 kwietnia do 31 października – codziennie od godz. 09.00 do godz. 18.00, od 01 listopada do 31 marca – od wtorku do soboty, od godz. 09.00 do 17.00

Krzywa wieża w Ząbkowicach Śląskich

The castle was built in the fifteenth century. In 1600, expanded and rebuilt in Renaissance style. Rebuilt and enlarged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Originally surrounded by earthen fortifications whose remnants are preserved in the surroundings of the castle today. It was renovated in 1964-1966. 
Today is privately owned, but is not in use (probably).

Castle in Stoszowice

This is a knight's castle ruins, built on an irregular plan at the turn of the XIII and XIV centuries. At the end of the XIII century a brick castle appeared partially built, it consisted of peripheral semicircular stone walls and wooden buildings in the courtyard. It is likely that the entrance was on the south, and the castle was surrounded by a canal. The castle obtained a full form at a time when the property was belonged to Jan Seckilin. In the first quarter of the XIV century a residential tower with four floors and a height of about 18 m was established. The stone tower was built on the rectangular plan with dimensions of 8 to 10 meters. In the XV century castle was the seat of the knight-robber Georga Reibnitz, in the second half of the XV century - of zenbytsky dukes. Since the beginning of XVI century castle belonged to the family Seidlits who, around 1540, gave it the character of the Renaissance. Also, with the help of Giovanni Bernardo, architect from Verona, outer fortifications were modified. Over the next century the castle was owned by several noble families, and in 1839 it was acquired by Prince Wilhelm Orański. Last renovation was in 1841, the the castles was damaged in 1945.
Renaissance frames of doors and windows preserved on the facades, also castle walls, the contours of the peripheral walls, bastions and ditches preserved.

Castle in Ciepłowodach

Palace in Zurzyce

Knight's castle was built of stone and brick in one half of the fourteenth century. At the turn of the sixteenth and seventeenth century, was rebuilt in Renaissance style and fortified embankments, bastions and a moat. Shortly afterwards walled perimeter. In the eighteenth century. Cistercian monastery in the hands of Henryków. Since 1812 years the property of the king, then was sold to private owners. Rebuilt in the eighteenth and nineteenth century lost original appearance. The band is preserved buildings tall square tower, residential buildings and perimeter walls and the strengthening of amphibians.

Castle in Witostowicach

Bishops Castle on a hill dominating the city. Built at the end of the thirteenth century. In the Gothic style, on irregular in the place of the existing castle castellan from the eleventh century. Was owned by the bishops of Wroclaw. Destroyed during the Hussite wars in the 1st half of the fifteenth century. Rebuilt and strengthened in the 2nd half of the fifteenth century. Rebuilt in Renaissance style in the years 1585 to 1596 as a residence for the bishops. Occupied by the Swedes in 1646., Followed by the Prussian army in 1741. Partially demolished in the nineteenth century. With the old assumptions remained two wings, the tower of the fifteenth century., And perimeter walls.

Castle in Otmuchów

Palace in Bożków - a historic 16th century palace built by von Magnis in the village Bożków in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.

From about 1520, the estate in Bożków was owned by the von Raueck family. After the Czech-Palatinate war, the estate was confiscated and given to the emperor's physician Caspar Jäschke von Eisenhut [1]. Then it passed into the hands of the Jesuits, who bought it from Johann Georg von Götzen, who built the castle and greatly contributed to the construction of the church in its present form. After the childless death of the last male descendant of this family, Count Johann von Götzen, the estate passed in 1780 to the son of one of his sisters Count Antony Alexander von Magnis [1].
The palace in its present shape was built between 1787 and 1791 with the reconstruction of an earlier building from the foundation of Alexander von Magnis [2]. On the northern side in 1800, a park with artificial ruins with tombstone plates and shields dating from the 16th and 17th centuries and a forester's lodge was founded. In 1813 a lookout tower was built on Grodziszcze Mountain.
The last reconstruction of the castle occurred after his great fire in 1870 by Count William von Magnis [1]. In 1871, the palace was rebuilt. In 1930 the facade was rebuilt into a classicist [2]. After 1945 the palace became the property of the State Treasury (and since 1999 the Starostwa) and for many years housed a school in it. In 1973 the palace was refurbished, and in the years 1975-1979 conservation treatments were carried out in the first floor rooms [1]. At the end of the twentieth century, the object fell into ruin [3]. In 2005 the starosta Klodzki sold the castle to Fenelon Group for PLN 2.5m. In 2010 it was bought by an investor from Sobótka [4]. In 2016 the palace was made available for sightseeing [5].

Among the guests who visited the palace in Bożków were, among others. John Quincy Adams [1], later US president and Prussian kings Frederick William III Hohenzollern with his wife Luisa and Friedrich Wilhelm IV Hohenzollern.

By decision of the Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments of 14 May 1981 the object was entered in the register of monuments [6].

It is now a Baroque-Classicist residence with a mighty tower on the north-east side and a second tower, smaller on the north-west side. The foundation has three storeys and is built on a circular section in a multi-pattern system [2]. The building has internal skylights and several gable roofs with loacs and facades. In the central part of the main wing, the walls of the Baroque foundation have been preserved [2]. At present, the palace interiors are severely destroyed and devastated [3].
Next to the palace is a late Baroque garden pavilion dating back to around 1800, covered with a mansard roof [2].