Castle of the Dukes of Głogów

The castle’s layout, as established after its late 13th-century reconstruction, forms a rectangular plan surrounded by a moat and linked directly to Głogów’s city defensive walls. The fortress included three stone buildings positioned along the shorter sides of this enclosure. The main entrance is believed to have faced east, a feature consistent with the castle’s current access point.

A prominent element of the castle is its cylindrical brick tower, known as the Hunger Tower. Built in the Gothic style during the 13th century, the tower rises approximately 24 meters tall and measures around 8.9 meters in diameter. The walls at its base are thick, nearly 2.75 meters, demonstrating its defensive purpose. Constructed with bricks laid in a traditional Wendish bond—a pattern characteristic of the region—the tower originally had an entrance elevated above the courtyard floor level, a typical medieval design intended to improve security. The entrance visible today was created in the 19th century during modernization efforts. Inside, the tower’s ground floor contains two barrel-vaulted rooms, and the basement preserves Gothic wall fragments with barrel vaulting as well. Historically, the tower earned its name from a prison located in the basement, where captives were held under harsh conditions.

The layout expanded in the 15th century with the addition of a Gothic building on the northern side, augmenting the residential and defensive capacity of the complex. In the 17th century, the castle saw significant Baroque modifications under the guidance of Johann Bernhard von Herberstein. A new southern wing was constructed, designed externally to resemble defensive walls, yet inside it housed a spacious exhibition hall—a shift towards more representational and administrative functions. The eastern wing was also redesigned in Baroque style, featuring arcades opening onto the courtyard and an ornamental staircase, adding architectural elegance to the fortress.

During the 18th century, further changes to the castle’s facades were undertaken, particularly on the eastern and southern fronts as well as the stairwell in the eastern wing. The tower itself was altered in the early 19th century when it was plastered and heightened, reflecting contemporary aesthetic preferences. In the era of the Polish People’s Republic, the tower was fitted with a new staircase, and an artistic installation symbolizing the Piast crown—referencing the castle’s original ruling dynasty—was placed atop its summit.

Following the destruction wrought in 1945, careful reconstruction efforts restored the castle’s wings entirely by 1983, with the southern wing rebuilt on the site of a building lost during World War II. While the tower’s external appearance was modified during restoration, its pre-war form was largely maintained. Proposals made around the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries to return the tower to its original 13th-century shape were ultimately not approved by heritage authorities.

Nearby the castle are additional commemorative and cultural elements. These include a castle amphitheater and the Monument to the Głogów Children, which honors the city’s famous 1109 defense. Another local landmark, the Pink Bridge of Tolerance, lies in the immediate vicinity, further enriching the historic setting.