Kłodzko Fortress

The first written mentions of a stronghold located in the place of the fortress date back to the 10th century. The Czech stronghold, made of earth and stone with elements of wooden buildings, was first described in 981 by the Czech chronicler Kosmas. It was then that the Czechs built a stronghold and the first castle on the current Fortress Mountain (369 m above sea level), formerly called Castle Mountain. This proves, even then, the defensive nature of this place. And it is from this time that 1000 years of history of the Kłodzko Fortress begins. In 1300, the castle became a residential castle of high comfort and beauty during the prosperity of the Kłodzko County. In 1349, Arnoszt of Pardubice (the first Archbishop of Prague) brought regular Augustinian canons to Kłodzko. He builds them a monastery and a collegiate church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, located on the southwestern slope of Góra Zamkowa. The 15th/16th century was mainly the construction of two towers within the Castle Hill: the northern - larger one and the southern - smaller one.

In 1557, the architect Lorenzo Kirschke, at the request of Prince Ernest of Bavaria, built a "Lower Castle", called the Lower Castle, with a ring of ramparts with a bastion outline on the southwestern slope of the Castle Hill. In 1620, an unknown Dutch engineer builds the Small Rampart on the south-eastern side of the "Upper Castle". It consists of the St. Szaniec. Florian and the Cross Ramparts. The Large Rampart is also built - a crown work - consisting of bastions: St. Francis (Jabłonka), St. Leopold (Ludmila), St. Ludmiła (Wacław) and the curtains connecting them. The Upper Castle is intended for army barracks.

In 1622, the city and the fortress were captured by the Austrians. Since then, we have referred to the fortress as a fortification. As a result of hostilities during the Thirty Years' War, the castle burned down and underwent subsequent expansions. This year, right after the siege, Valenty Säbisch the Younger (builder of the Wrocław fortifications) is preparing inventory plans for the Kłodzko stronghold.