Krąg Castle

Krąg Castle stands on Lake Zamkowe, in the western part of the village in Polanów municipality. The first mentions of the stronghold date from 1495, and the present form of the building is the result of rebuildings over several centuries. Since the 1990s it has housed a hotel.

From a residential tower to a Renaissance residence

At the beginning there was a residential tower surrounded by a moat, built by Adam Podewils. According to the heritage register the stronghold had earlier belonged to the Pomeranian dukes, and at the end of the 15th century Bogislaw X passed it to Adam von Podewils. The tower was demolished, and in the 1580s a Renaissance residence was built on its site, its construction initiated by Feliks von Podewils. A three-storey building with round corner towers was created.

Rebuildings in the 17th and 19th centuries

In the middle of the 17th century a storey and a projecting bay on the lake side were added. In the 19th century the castle was rebuilt in the Neo-Renaissance spirit on the initiative of Karl Wilhelm von Riepenhausen, and in 1898-1899 a wing on the water side was added. The main body today has four storeys, cylindrical towers with domed caps and gable roofs covered with beaver-tail tiles. In the church next door, the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a burial chapel, a Baroque rebuilding and the family mausoleum can be seen.

Destruction after 1945 and reconstruction

The residence burnt down in 1945. After the war it housed a forest district office and a school, which operated until 1956, and then the building fell into decay despite partial securing work at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s reconstruction began for the needs of the forest district office, but was interrupted for financial reasons. In the 1990s the castle passed to a private owner, who carried out a renovation to the state before 1945, with all the former rebuildings, and set up the Podewils hotel in it, with a beach and bathing jetties. The exact date of the sale is given differently in different places, hence the plain wording "the 1990s".

Interiors and park

The interiors have a double-bay layout, with an entrance hall, an early Baroque fireplace and a vaulted room called the "Turkish room". Part of the furnishings is in the museum in Darłowo. A park extends east of the castle, and the surroundings of the village are complemented by historic sites in nearby places, for example the palace in Wielin.

Practical information

• Address: Krąg 16, Polanów municipality, Koszalin County.
• The castle lies on the southern shore of Lake Zamkowe, about 100 m from the village's main road.
• The site is a hotel, so it is privately owned. According to the heritage register, visiting is possible by arrangement with the hotel's owner, so it is worth contacting them before a visit.
• The castle was entered in the heritage register in 1956.