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No. 51048

Castle · Poland

Czettritz Castle, Wałbrzych

Wałbrzych, Poland20th centuryFirst known reference: 1606
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No. 51048 · 50.771 N, 16.274 E

Quick summary

Czettritz Castle, Wałbrzych is a castle in Poland, listed as reference No. 51048.

Czettritz Castle, Wałbrzych is a castle in Wałbrzych, Poland with origins associated with the 20th century.

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Czettritz Castle in Wałbrzych, Poland, is a Renaissance-period manor house erected between 1606 and 1628 for Diprand von Czettritz, a member of the von Czettritz family. Built at what was then the city boundary of Waldenburg (now Wałbrzych), the new residence replaced an earlier seat after a destructive fire at Neuhaus castle; the ruins of Burg Neuhaus remain in the Dittersbach (Dzietrzychów) district. From its completion the building served as a noble residence and focal point for estate management in the locality.

In 1738 ownership passed to the Counts of Hochberg of Fürstenstein, a family that later assumed the title Princes of Pless. Under Hochberg control the castle continued to play a central administrative role. A rebuilding in 1857 refurbished the house and prepared it to serve as the estate administration headquarters for the Hochberg properties.

A comprehensive reconstruction and enlargement took place in 1882–1883, when the building received an updated Neo‑Renaissance appearance. After that work the property accommodated the Voivodeship Office in Wałbrzych, taking on a formal public-administrative function in the region. The grounds were further developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with service buildings and family villas.

During the 20th century the Hochberg family left a visible imprint on the site. Two family villas were added in 1905 and 1923, and the older of these villas on the castle grounds was where Duchess Mary Theresa of Pless, known as Princess Daisy and the last private owner of Schloss Waldenburg, died in 1943. A memorial to the duchess was placed in the castle courtyard in 2007. Originally recorded in the Oberwaldenburg cadastral area, the castle now stands within the city centre of Wałbrzych (Wałbrzych–Śródmieście). Since 2004 the State Higher Vocational School Angelus Silesius has been based in the castle, continuing the site’s long sequence of institutional uses.

Condition

The principal building presents a two‑storey block with an additional mansard storey, giving the roof a pronounced upper level. The interior preserves multiple rooms covered by vaulted ceilings, and the anteroom contains notable Renaissance stucco, stucco meaning plaster used for decorative moulding. The principal eastern entrance retains a Renaissance-style doorway framed by a carved coat-of-arms cartouche, a shield-shaped decorative plaque bearing the arms of the von Czettritz and von Zedlitz families.

The wider ensemble combines the house with landscaped and service elements. Czettritz Park was laid out in 1886 and extends to roughly five hectares, forming a substantial planted setting for the residence. A steward’s house dating to the late 18th century stands within the grounds, reflecting the estate’s managerial functions. Nineteenth-century economic buildings survive, including stables and a coach house that served the estate’s transport and livestock needs.

The complex also includes two Hochberg family villas erected in 1905 and 1923; the older villa is the place where Duchess Mary Theresa died in 1943 and the castle courtyard contains a memorial to her installed in 2007. Additional manor and farm buildings together with officials’ houses from the late 18th and 19th centuries form a coherent group around the main residence, showing the site’s long use for both family living and estate administration. The principal house has been substantially altered by the 19th‑century rebuilding and the 1882–1883 expansion, and it remains in active use today as the home of the State Higher Vocational School Angelus Silesius.

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