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Are you planning a trip to Poland and need help figuring out where to go? Plan a trip to Książ Castle in the Polish town of Walbrzych, one of the most visited sights in the region. You will not regret it because the atmosphere here will absorb you.
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Książ Castle, the largest in Lower Silesia and the third largest in Poland is a real gem. The building stands not far from the state border with the Czech Republic and will delight you with its appearance and phenomenal rooms, and fabulous terraces, which are hidden from the surroundings on the top of a steep rock. The castle hides many interesting facts from the life of the famous Hochberg noble family and still unsolved secrets related to the underground network of tunnels from World War II.
Książ Castle in Wałbrzych is a place that inspires admiration at first glance. It is not easy to find a place that enchants you in one day with beautiful rooms and magical flower terraces and is shrouded in the dark past of Nazi practices during the Second World War.
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History of the castle
Książ Castle was originally built 750 years ago. The first records say that Bolko I from the Piast family built it. The fortress called “Książęca Góra” (translated as “Prince’s Mountain”) was impregnable. Over the years, Książ came into the ownership of families from the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Germany. Each ruler contributed to the transformation of its appearance and equipment.
The castle’s most famous owners were the von Hochberg family, who owned the castle from 1509 to 1941. The first major reconstruction of the castle took place from 1705 to 1742. It begins with Konrad Ernest Maximilian von Hochberg, to whom he also owes the most beautiful halls of Książ Castle, the courtyard and the outer forecourt, the representative Baroque wing and the family mausoleum.
One of the most important lords at Książ Castle was Jan Henryk XI. Hochberg von Pless, who was proud of the title of Archduke. Thanks to the huge profits from the mining activity, the family continued to invest not only in the castle but also in the education of its employees’ children, the development of hospitals, and the support of nearby parishes.
Beautiful princess Daisy
In 1891, Jan Henry XV. Hochberg married the Englishwoman Maria Theresa Cornwallis West, nicknamed Princess Daisy (or Daisy). Three sons were born from this marriage. In 1907-1938, during the reign of the Hochbergs, the second major reconstruction of Książ began. Two new wings, a 47 m high tower, castle terraces, and the Wałbrzych palm house, which was supposed to be a gift from her husband to Princess Daisy, are being built.
Princess Daisy became famous for her unconventional approach and, according to some, was many years ahead of her time. Her diaries, which caused a wave of criticism, revealed the many absurdities of noble life. Eventually, Daisy divorced because of her husband’s numerous affairs and a completely different political view of the war.
The period of Nazism
In 1941, the castle was confiscated by the Nazis. The castle was beginning to be rebuilt into the residence of the empire’s ruler. In the process, underground tunnels are created, which were supposed to be part of Riese’s mysterious project. The war brings great destruction to Książ Castle; the interiors are ransacked, and the abandoned ruins are looted. Only in 1974 was the castle thoroughly reconstructed.
Currently, Książ Castle is a museum, and after many years, several dozen paintings from the former Hochberg collection have returned here. It is one of the most visited attractions of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
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Tour of Książ Castle in Wałbrzych
Książ Castle consists of several hundred rooms and even if not all of them are accessible, the tour takes about 1.5 hours. You walk through the rooms at your own pace. An audio guide, which everyone receives at the entrance, helps you. The audio guide is great, after a while you forget you have it. It switches itself, always according to the room you are entering.
The Hochbergs were one of the three wealthiest families in Prussia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. But most of all, the design sense of Maria Teresa Olivia Hochberg von Pless, better known as Princess Daisy, can be felt in the spaces here. She managed to turn Książ into a meeting place for monarchs and influential people. Today, you can go back in time in its rooms and see what life was like for the Hochbergs at the beginning of the 20th century.
For example, you will find a permanent exhibition called “Prince from the Kitchen,” which consists of over 200 unique photographs depicting not only the castle and the princely family but also ordinary people who worked for them. The photos are described in three languages , allowing you to come face-to-face with the past. You will see how the children grew up and what the interiors looked like before they were looted and destroyed, and at least for a moment, you will feel the atmosphere that prevailed here.
Maximilian Hall
When visiting Książ Castle, you pass through many beautifully renovated rooms with historical furniture and richly decorated. The two-story golden Maximilian Hall dates from the same period as the courtyard. It is the best-preserved Baroque state hall in Silesia and is also considered one of Poland’s most beautiful palace salons. It represents the Viennese Baroque style, and its creators included many famous artists of the 18th century.
Particularly notable are the richly decorated black Italian marble fireplaces decorated with mythological figures, the three balconies serving the court orchestra and the decorated ceiling. It was created by the Prague painter Antoni Felix Scheffler and depicts Athena’s visit to the seat of the Muses on Helikon.
The mysterious underground of Książ Castle
One of the attractions of Książ Castle is the local underground, which stimulates the imagination of treasure hunters. All the more so when you also pass an inconspicuous modern elevator shaft heading deep into the earth during your tour of the castle. After all, who hasn’t heard about Nazi treasures, gold trains, and other stories of hidden wealth, one of such mysterious Nazi complexes is located right in the rock below the Ksiaz castle. Everyone can now look down here with a guide.
After descending to a depth of 50 meters, a view into a completely different world awaits us. You can see here what led to the megalomania of a mustachioed dictator who dreamed of underground cities carved out of solid rock. The tunnels here are part of the Riese complex, which was built at an unimaginably fast pace by the industrious hands of thousands of slaves in Lower Silesia. As you can guess, many of the forced laborers did not live to see the end of their work and ended their lives here.
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Książ Castle and Castle Gardens
The castle tour can also be completed on the terraces with ornamental gardens in the warm season. The first gardens here were built in the 17th century on the site of a former fortification. Currently, the terraces are arranged on 12 levels covering an area of 2 hectares, created in the French style and decorated with flowers, trees, shrubs, statues and fountains. They are also a place with beautiful views of the surrounding area, which Princess Daisy von Pless mentions in her diaries.
Interesting facts about Książ Castle
You could catch a glimpse of Książ Castle in Wałbrzych in a whole line of films, primarily Polish, unknown to many. But last year, the chilling film The Zone of Interest conquered the screens of cinemas worldwide. Although this film from the Second World War takes place elsewhere, there are scenes in which we also get a peek into Książ Castle. And what makes the Zone of Interest so interesting? It is a film that has received several international awards. Among other things, in 2023, it won 2 Golden Oscar statuettes.
The Hochenberger Trail and the Książ Viewpoint
The Hochberg Trail is one of the lesser-known attractions of the area. This path through the forest around the castle provides several stops with wonderful views of this magnificent building. You start on the green that leads from the castle towards the mausoleum, and in front of it, you turn right onto a narrow, inconspicuous path between rhododendrons. This is where the “Przełomy pod Książem” nature reserve begins. The route leads along rugged slopes, over escarpments along the gorge’s walls, over which many footbridges and bridges lead. It is unsuitable for people with prams, high heels, or flip-flops. Few tourists get lost here, so there is a beautiful peace, disturbed only by the sounds of the surrounding nature.
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Palm House (Palmiarna)
Another great place worth visiting while visiting Książ Castle is the Palm House in Wałbrzych. It was built more than 110 years ago, about 2 km from the castle, and was a gift from John Henry XV, the last owner of the castle, to his wife, Princess Daisy.
The Palm House in Walbrzych is actually a combination of greenhouses and a botanical park. Today, over 250 types of plants grow in it – exotic palms, cacti, citrus trees, bamboos and a unique collection of bonsai. An interesting fact is that you can also find several types of animals in Palmiarna. You probably expect fish, exotic birds or turtles, but what you don’t expect are probably lemurs.
The construction of the Palm House consists of the central part, a 15 m high building made of glass and metal, where a wall made of solidified lava from the Etna volcano, which the prince brought from Sicily in 7 railway cars, creates a unique impression. The cascades of waterfalls and caverns have also been made from the lava.
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Some practical information from Książ Castle in Wałbrzych
- The ideal visit to Książ Castle is on a weekday outside of holidays. The place is known worldwide, and year-round, visitors of all nationalities will be present. But outside of the busiest days, you will at least have a chance to enjoy the castle a little more quietly, without a massive siege of its admirers.
- Before you go to the castle, please look at its website. There are several discounted packages for other attractions, such as the underground, princely stables, or the mausoleum.
- There are several parking lots at the castle, so there is plenty of space. As soon as one is filled, the administrator will refer you to another, so you don’t have to worry about wandering. All parking lots are paid, and the rate is for the whole day.
- Tours of the castle take place throughout its opening hours without a guide. At the entrance, you will receive headphones and an audio guide in the language of your choice.
- Children receive colorful headphones with an audio guide for greater comfort. They also have their own fairytale version of the tour prepared here. Unfortunately, it is only available in Polish. Children of other nationalities will hear the same words as their parents in the audio guide.
- It is not allowed to take backpacks with you on the tour. You can put the smaller backpacks in front of you on your stomach and the bigger ones in the lockers at the entrance after you get your hands on the audio guide. The lockers are for coins, so having some small zlotys with you is good.
- Toilets are free of charge on the way along the sightseeing route, so if you need to take a break, you don’t have to leave the castle.
Overnight at Książ Castle
An interesting fact is that you can spend the night directly in the adjacent buildings of Książ Castle. The hotel is in the castle courtyard, so you will wake up in the morning with a view of this magnificent building right in front of your windows. Contact for Hotel Książ can be found here >>. Accommodation is not cheap, but if you choose one of the dates during the working week and outside the tourist season, you will not regret it.
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