Bishop's Castle in Lidzbark Warmiński - a castle from the 14th century located in Lidzbark Warmiński, one of the most valuable monuments of Gothic architecture in Poland. Since 2018 a monument of history.
The castle was built between 1350 and 1401. The construction work began a year after the seat of the bishops of Warmia had been moved from Orneta (German: Wormditt) to Lidzbark Warmiński (German: Heilsberg). The construction of the castle in its original form was carried out by the bishops, from Herman of Prague to Henry Sorbom. The building was erected on a quadrilateral plan measuring 48.5×48.5 metres. During Bishop Sorbom's tenure, the castle courtyard was surrounded by two-storey cloisters.
Lidzbark Warmiński Castle consists of:

Forecourt , Entrance hall, Castle chapel, Grand refectory, High tower rooms, Audience chamber and the remaining rooms of the first floor.
Forecastle It is surrounded by three wings of buildings that have changed their shape and character over the centuries. The east wing in its present form - the palace founded by Bishop Grabowski - was used by the country's alderman and served as a court. The south wing was added at the end of the 18th century by the wall connecting the east wing with the west wing. In the south-east corner of the pre-castle, a cylindrical tower has been preserved (state from the 16th century), and in the central part of the south wing a gate tower from the 14th century. The earliest, in the 14th century, was the west wing of the bailey, which has had its present form since the mid-18th century.
Staterooms The appearance of the rooms and sometimes their functions in the Lidzbark castle changed over the centuries. This was influenced by fashion and the tastes of the users. The palace built by Bishop Wydżga, once standing by the southern wall of the castle, also influenced the changes in the way the castle rooms were used.
Castle chapel is located on the first floor in the eastern part of the south wing. It owes its present Rococo decoration to Bishop Grabowski. Mieczysław Orłowicz wrote about the chapel in this way: The entrance to it is the coat of arms of Cardinal Michał Radziejowski (1679-88). The stellar vault received Rococo ornamentation in the 18th century when the chapel underwent restoration under Bishop Grabowski, as evidenced by his coat of arms next to the organ. There is also a gilded coat of arms of the Bishopric of Warmia made of wood. The wall paintings are of a medium brush, possibly by Jozef Korzeniewski, Bishop Grabowski's court painter. Rococo altars, in the large one there is a painting of the Marriage of St Catherine, a pulpit and an organ. At the wall, a reliquary of St Benedict made of black marble. The altar paintings disappeared in 1945. The missing painting in the main altar was replaced by a painting of St. George (by Josef Korzeniewski) from the Lidzbark parish church.
Grand refectory, also known as the courtroom, now occupies the east wing of the first floor of Lidzbark castle. It is entered from the cloister through a Renaissance sandstone portal bearing the date 1612 and the coat of arms of Bishop Szymon Rudnicki. The room was enlarged during the reign of Bishop Ignacy Krasicki by demolishing the wall separating the grand refectory (originally a five-bay room) from the Sybil Chamber. At present, the grand refectory is a six-bay hall, 27 m long and 9 m wide, decorated with a heraldic frieze with the coats of arms of the bishops of Warmia from Anselm to Wojciech Ziemba. In the refectory there are discoveries of the oldest paintings from the end of the 14th century. The medieval polychrome depicts the coronation of Mary, and the walls were decorated with polychrome with a chessboard motif. In the refectory room, collections of medieval art from Warmia and Teutonic Prussia are exhibited. In the northern part of the room is the tombstone of Bishop Paul Legendorf.
Use of rooms. When Bishop Vydžga's palace was not yet in existence, the rooms on the second floor in the west and north wings were used as living quarters. At present, most of the castle rooms are open to the public as the Museum of Warmia. The dungeons contain an arsenal and a lapidarium, where cannons and stone details and sculptures from the former palace of Bishop Jan Stefan Wydżga are on display. Jan Stefan Wydżga. On the ground floor, collections of Gothic art, portraits, documents related to famous inhabitants of the castle and elements of the former furnishings of the castle halls are displayed. The first floor contains mementoes of the bishops of Warmia, such as chasubles, altar chapels and a large collection of Ignacy Krasicki's memorabilia. The second floor of the castle houses Polish paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries (e.g. paintings by Julian Fałat and Józef Mehofer), while the third floor houses a collection of icons, many of which come from Wojnowo, as well as contemporary Polish paintings (e.g. paintings by Jerzy Duda-Gracz). In the refectory, there is a tombstone of Bishop Legendorf from 1494 by Peter Vischer of Nuremberg.
History of the Castle
The castle played an important role in the Polish-Teutonic war. In 1410, after the Battle of Grunwald, Bishop Henry Fogelsang paid homage to the Polish king. However, the Polish garrison remained in the castle for only two months, and after the Polish-Lithuanian army withdrew, Warmia returned to the hands of the Teutonic Knights. In 1414, the town and castle, although reinforced by the Teutonic Knights, were captured by the Poles after a siege of several days. The king guarded the fortress with a crew led by the knight Dzierżek of Vostovice before continuing northwards. This time, however, the Polish army also stayed for a short time, as in the same year Olsztyn was recaptured by a Teutonic army under the command of the Pokkam commander Helfric von Drach. During the Thirteen Years' War the castle changed hands. In February 1454, rebellious burghers wanted to move on the castle and demolish it, but after receiving the keys, they seized it and made it an important stronghold of the anti-Teutonic union forces. After the defeat of the Polish knights at Chojnice in September 1454, the situation was reversed and Olsztyn was surrendered to the Order without a fight, following negotiations. In the years 1455-1461 the castle was administered by the Teutonic knight Georg von Schlieben, who appropriated the chapter's treasury and castle property. Finally, after the second peace treaty in Toruń ending the Thirteen Years' War, Warmia together with Olsztyn was annexed to Poland.
The Teutonic Knights threatened the castle and town for the last time in 1521, but their defence was so effective that they stopped after one unsuccessful assault. The chapter entrusted the administration of the Olsztyn chamberlaincy to a canon elected annually from its midst, called the administrator. In the years 1516-1521, the administrator of the Olsztyn chamber was the great astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. It was he who prepared the defence of Olsztyn against the Teutonic invasion. He stockpiled ammunition and provisions and doubled the size of the castle garrison.
In the 16th century, the castle was visited by Martin Kromer, who then consecrated St Anne's Chapel, recently built in the south-west wing of the castle. Over time, both wings of the castle lost their military importance and became unsuitable for residential purposes. In 1758, an access was created to the castle from the side of the town and a palace wing was built on this side, at the same time removing the bailey, part of the walls and the original gate tower.
After the annexation of Varmia in 1772, the castle became the property of the state landowners. In 1845, the bridge over the moat was replaced by a causeway connecting the castle with the town, and the moat was drained. In 1901-1911, in connection with the election of the castle as the seat of the president of the Olsztyn regency, a general renovation of the castle was carried out. At that time, the floor level in the refectory was changed, the vaults of the ground floor were removed, and the cloister was fitted with window frames and a neo-Gothic staircase was added. In 1921, a museum was placed in the castle rooms.
Current state
The castle is now one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in Poland. Many special events are organised by the Museum of Warmia and Mazury. An integral part is the Nicolaus Copernicus exhibition, which is still on display today. On the wall of the cloister is an astronomical laboratory from 1517, probably made by the great astronomer himself, which contributed to the reform of the church calendar. In the courtyard, meanwhile, you can see the so-called Baba of Prussia, a cult statue of the early Middle Ages. Less well known is the fact that the hurdy-gurdy or wooden portico on the south-west side is the original building, exposed in chronological order for the roof trusses of 1429.
You should plan about three hours to visit the former seat of the rulers of Warmia, including a walk around the bailey and a tour of the complex around it.
In the castle grounds there is the "Alegoria" Restaurant.
The excellent location of the hotel - Hotel Krasicki in the centre of Lidzbark Warmiński makes the rich past of Warmia, its monuments, nature at your fingertips. Right next to the hotel, gondolas on the Łyna River are waiting for you.