On the first part of our family road trip this year we went to “conquer” castles in southern Poland on the trail of the Eagles’ Nests–a chain of 25 castles that used to guard the southern border of Poland, between Krakow and Częstochowa (you know, thh Christian pilgrimage site of the Black Madonna?!?!), a long long time ago. Places rich in history date back to 1400s.
The Swedes couldn’t conquer them in the Swedish Deluge in 1655, but we sure can 
even with our short legs After a family-frinedly, kid-approved visit to Olsztyn castle, here’s the other 4 castles, in pictures. #zamekolsztyn #zamekogrodzieniec #bobolice #mirów #zwiedzaniezdziećmi
We’ve already seen the impressive ruins of Olsztyn castle, much of it still standing on a commending height over the town of the same name where we camped in a very cool and rustic, BACKYARD CAMPING OLSZTYN.
Next stop, day 3 of our family camping road trip, all in Poland: the 14th century castle ruins of Bobovice and Mirow–only a 40-minute drive (30 kilometers) southeast of the first castle we visited on the trail of the Eagle’s nest, Olsztyn castle.
Another rainy day. It took us nearly one hour drive to get there through the pouring rain and it was not a pleasant ride through small country roads with occasional crazy drivers. Overtaking and coming at you fast and around blind bends. For those of you who have driven through Polish countryside, you know I’m talking about here! Watch out!
The Castle of Bobovice and the Lady within its Walls
First stop: A family-friendly, KID-approved visit to Zamek Bobovice (zamek is Polish for castle) or what Google’s “Live Transcribe” calls castle Bobo Visa.
This castle ruins did not look like ruins at all. It was apparently rebuilt by the descendants of the original noble family who took pride in owing nothing to the Polish government for renovating the castle to its current state. Apparently, although all castles in Poland are historical landmarks and properties of the country. However, the government did not provide any funds for the preservation of the castle.
And you can see that’s how this castle is more developed than Zamek Mirow.
What’s cool about the castle? Our young kids were thrilled “the woman and the witch on the wall”. the restaurant and the insides of the castle, as well as the chair with spikes (before we told them that it was used for hurting people).
There were about 48 steps to the top floor of the castle, according to our younger son who was counting. There’s a lot of climbing up in addition to that.
Free parking. But it’s on a separate and you’d have to walk about 400 meters to the castle gates. It’s a walk that gives you a beautiful perspective of the castle on the rocky outcrop of a hill as you come around to approach it.
How much was the entrance fee? 115 zlotys for all of us (2 adults, 3 children) for both access to the castle and the expansive castle grounds. Yes, the fee gives you the cheaper option to just visit the castlegrounds. And the fee to the castle came with a young knowledgable tour guide who was very kind to entertain lots of questions. The guided tour lasted about 45 minutes.
Impressive views from the roof-covered terrace at the top of the castle. As my son said, 48 steps to the top of the chapel on top in a pooper-room with a view. Ohhhhh, what I’d give to sit and have my “conference call” on that!
So, small rooms. There’s an impressive one with all the armors laid down around the dining table.
There’s a witch on the wall and also the legend of the lady of the house being buried/entombed within the castle walls.
There’s also a legend of two brothers, I guess, falling in love with the same woman (ahhhh, does this story ever get old?)… And that there’s some kind of a treasure buried in a tunnel that connects the two castles Bobovice and Mirow. Nobody knows exactly where it is though… at least not yet.
Other little notes: across from the castle is a cozy bed-and-breakfast-type hotel that would be perfect for a romantic getaway in an off-the-beaten track destination.
You and your lovely can pretend to be Duke and Duchess of these lands, even for just a day. You may get a sense of authenticity because in the restaurant next to the hotel you will be spoiled by servers in traditional dresses. Here, you can dine and drink with a view of the castle at not-so expensive prices. For example, 62 zlotys for 4 hot chocolates and a beer. Gotta LOVE POLSKA!
The Castle of Mirow
It’s about a mile or so to Zamek Mirow which is less developed than the castle of Bobovice. You can walk there from Bobovice for about 1.5 kilometers on a walking trail (not the street for cars).
I don’t know how they could actually build a tunnel about a mile long that connects the two castles but, you know, in the old days it’s amazing what they can do.
Unfortunately, we could not go into the Mirow Castle because it was under repairs. We could have paid a small fee just to enter the the castle grounds; I think about the same as it was on the other side. But since it was quite rainy, it was really not worth it. From where we were standing close to the ticketbooth, we were already so close to the ground. So there’s really no point in going.
PARKING? Unlike at Bobovice castle with a separate parking lot, here at the castle of Mirow tall you got is a shady (and I mean dangerous because of passing cars on this narrow street) sidestreet parking for two cars. In the castle grounds, there’s a place for three cars, but according to the ticket holder, you can’t really park there. Pfft!
Overall, it was not as interesting a visit here as it was at Zamek Bobovice but it was still nice to see the other standing castle in this part of the Trail of the Eagle’s Nest of Poland. . . even in the rain.
And the lesson is you can not let the rain put a stop to your plants, right? You just got to do it, rain or shine, because the weather forecast was often wrong here and we were lucky enough to have a couple hours of light rain that enabled us to actually walk about and visit the castles.
So, it’s not as bad at all! And it got the kids off the screens and all of us out of the tents! Yay!!
Bąkowiec Castle in Zawiercie, Hidden Beauty, Forever Closed?
We chanced upon the castle of Bąkowiec when we were looking for a restaurant that can shelter us from the rain. The secluded castle looked intact with some reconstructed features. Unfortunately, it was closed indefinitely. We tried to find a way in and even went around the castle, with no luck. But the kids had fun doing it and even discovered a bunny hill for a ski slope, complete with a drag lift which would be really cool for winter break.
Even better that across from the castle is a resort with accomodation, restaurant, and (in the back) a huge field for play, a playground and a big swimming pool.
Zamek Ogrodzieniec, The Prettiest of Them All?
After four nights of relatively peaceful camping (peaceful except for the first night) it’s time for us to move it again. You could really feel the difference this time around wen we didn’t have to move every two to three days. That extra night or two of staying in one place makes a difference in making a more relaxing camping experience.
Nevertheless. It was raining all day and all night yesterday as well as through this morning making breaking camp a bit tricky. We were still able to break camp in an hour and a half before the heavy rains came. So thanks to the extra leading hand of Philip, the boys’ cousin, everything went smoothly. And so off, we go to Krakow, which is two hours away with a couple of castle detours.
The first stop was Zamek Ogrodzieniec. It is perhaps the most developed of the castles on the trail of the Eagles’ Nests. It is impressive. It sits on top of the hill, higher than the ones in Olsztyn and Bobolice, with a commanding height of all the lands around.
Except for the touristy features (stalls of souvenirs and rstaurants) that lead up to the entrance to the castle, the castle of Ogrodzieniec really does make an impression on you.
Unfortunately, we did not have the time. Too late to eat and explore the castle grounds and ruins which apparently has a dungeon, an exhibition, and a bar restaurant inside. It’s not a good day to visit anyway because it’s raining still.
PRICE: It’s also a little bit costly. I think it’s 118 zlotys for all five of us (3 children) and to be in a hurry and pay that much money. It’s worth saving this one for the next time around.
This is actually a very kid-friendly/family-friendly stop because there are a lot of things to do around the castle for kids. As well as knickknacks that kids can buy (WATCH OUT, dads and moms!) there is also some kind of “Linowy” park or line/rope park–some kind of a climbing park on on trees, and a top trees. There’s also a some sort of mini roller coaster that you can get on as part of that parkland. There’s also some other rides for the little ones, like a mini fairground.
LIMITED PARKING: Parking was a little tricky. It looked like there was free parking on the on a grassy slope, next to the road leading up to the castle. Not sure though. There are no signs, but some cars parked have parked there. We didn’t do that. We ended up snagging the first parking lot that we saw with a very nice lady for 10 zlotys for the entire day. Not bad at all and, you know, you can call yourself a contributor to the Local Economic Development.
So this little stop is easily worth a one-day visit. Preferably on a sunny day.
CASTLE BAR/RESTAURANT: You can sort of get a little closer to the castle without paying anything, or at least be within the confines of the castle ground by just going to the restaurant that’s just on the other side of the entrance. Tell the guy who’s monitoring the entrance that. Then at the outer seating, you can eat or drink or both with a view of the castle right in front of you. Maybe some people try to sneak out but you know that wouldn’t be cool, right? The prices are not cheap. Recommend to get something calle d”Smolyets” (phonetics) –with a really big thick bread with pig fat/oil and pickles or the the boys had more details. Add more details here.
Castle Ogrodzieniec is about one hour from our camping site in Olsztyn. Next camping site is an hour and a half southwest of Krakow. We also plan to visit Zamak Ojcov. But we’re sort of cutting it close because we need to pick up my niece from the Krakow train station. It would take at least half an hour to get there from camping Krakow without traffic. So we had to give up this one up and save it for later.
### That’s it. Thanks for stopping by! ###
Next Stop:
Here’s the rest of what we plan to see and do in Poland’s south/southeast region on this year’s family camping road trip:
- Olsztyn and the trail of the Eagle’s nest,
- Black Madonna of Częstochowa,
- Krakow and the nearby attractions (Energylandia, Wadowice, Wieliczka Salt Mine),
- Pieniny mountain,
- drive through Slovakia’s southern Carpathian mountain,
- stop by the Saint Magdalene church in Dukla,
- do some trekking in the Bieszczady mountains and cross over into cross over to Ukraine (… maybe ; ),
- go see about a famous beetle in Szczebrzeszyn,
- and a charming art town of Kazimierz Dolny.
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