120km to a Fairy-Tale…. Moszna Castle / Pałac w Mosznej

Going through some old photos of ours, I came across another place I highly recommend for a one-day (family) trip. Someone recommended it to us saying that “it’s simply fabulous!” so we went there and yes, it surely is!

It’s called Pałac w Mosznej/ Moszna Castle and with its famous 99 towers (!!!) it’s absolutely beautiful!

Moszna Castle is placed in Opole voivodeship in the Western Part of Upper Silesia, approximately 120km away from Wroclaw. This picturesque castle is one of Upper Silesia’s main monuments which you can see in Opole region’s TV spot. It’s located in a small village called Moszna and its history reaches back to the 17^th century though at the beginning of the 20^th century,  a group of investigators claimed upon their findings that the castle has cellars that might be remnants of a Templar castle. Unfortunately, this theory hasn’t been proved since and remains a supposition but certainly does add a pinch of mysteriousness to this place…

Moszna Castle’s website isn’t translated so I took some time to translate the rich history of the castle for you on my own so that you can read a bit about it before you actually go there.

Here we go then:

Moszna is located on the communication route connecting Prudnik and Krapkowice. The name of the village most probably comes from the surname Moschin, a family who moved to Lacznik parish  in the XIV century. As the legends say,in the middle ages, Moszna belonged to The Knights of the Temple of Solomon (Templar Monastery).

In year 1679, Moszna was owned by a family called von Skall. When the owner of Moszna – Urszula Maria von Skall – died in 1723, the village was taken over by her cousin, the Great Marshal of Fryderyk the Great’s court – George Wilhelm von Reisewitz. From this period of time comes the palace – the central, baroque part of today’s castle. In year 1771 the family of von Reisewitz lost Moszna and the estate was bought at an auction by Heinrich Leopold von Seherr-Thoss whose family also owned another castle and properties in nearby Dobra village. In 1853 Karl Gotthard Seherr-Thoss sold Moszna to a Heinrich von Erdmannsdorf, who next sold it to Hubert von Tiele-Winckler from Miechowice in 1866. His son Franz Hubert was the initiator and builder of the castle built after the palace was partially destroyed in a fire in 1896.

Franz Hubert’s grandfather, Franz Winckler, at the age of 16 started working as a miner in silver-mine “Fryderyk” in Tarnowskie Mountains. He moved to Miechowice in 1830, working as an accountant for his master-employer Aresin, the owner of many calamine mines and zinc foundries. After the death of the magnate, Franz Winckler married his wife, a rich widow – Maria Aresin and in year 1840 he was knighted by a Prussian King. Franz Winckler’s heiress was his daughter Valeska, who in 1854 married the Hubert von Tiele who bought Moszna in 1866. Once married they, they used a combined surname Tiele-Winckler. Hubert died in year 1893 and in accordance to the right of primogeniture his wealth, estate and possessions were passed by inheritance to his eldest son, the mentioned above Franz Hubert.

In 1895 Franz Hubert joined the ranks of aristocracy thanks to his title of an earl granted by emperor Wilhelm. One year later, after the fire, he re-built and expanded his residence. In 1904, 1911 and 1912, the Earl was visited by the German ruler who came over for hunting and it was him for whom in years 1911-1913 the west wing of the castle was built.  Unfortunately Franz Hubert’s son, Claus-Peter, lost most of the ancestors’ fortune living a merry life during the period between the two World Wars. Dying childlessly, he adopted his cousin, whose own son was meant to be the next inheritor of the remaining wealth and the earl title. His family stayed in Moszna Castle until the end of war, when they fled to Germany away from the approaching Red Army.

After World War II, the fate of the castle was various but from 1972 up to 2013 the castle was used as a hospital. Moszna Castle, according to Franz Hubert’s fantasy has 365 rooms and 99 towers of which it is famous for. The unprecedented architecture of the Castle attracts a large number of tourists every year.

Moszna Castle is great to go to with children as there is plenty of space for them to run around and explore. There’s a small 200 hectares park/ garden right behind the castle where you can spread a blanket and relax. There are benches you can sit on or you can go for a walk around the place. ( Watch out for mosquitos! ) There are also stables open to visitors where one can have a look at the horses.

On the premises of the residence, you can have a little picnic of your own or visit the restaurant inside the castle. The food is.. OK (: But because it’s just ok it’s also not expensive so pretty much anyone can afford some lunch in the lovely interiors of the castle. ( The restaurant does have baby seats).  Oh, and if you do get inside the restaurant – look up! The ceilings are something definitely worth hanging an eye on.

If you visit Moszna Castle during summer season, there’s also plenty of stalls outside the castle – with ice-cream, food, sweets, snacks and some souvenirs. They’re all placed along the road and path leading straight to the castle.

When we went to Moszna Castle, Little Man was only 6 months old so we didn’t visit the interiors but we spent the day outside, on the grass, watching the beautiful view of the architectural masterpiece. We had some food in the restaurant and even though there’s no mother and baby room in the castle ( I guess Franz Hubert must have forgotten…) and you have to carry your stroller down the stairs leading to the restaurant we felt it was a nice place to go to with a baby anyway, especially if you don’t mind changing a nappy on a blanky the bonus of which is plenty of fresh air and a 5* view (;

In my modest opinion – Moszna Castle is a must see, regardless of whether you’re going there with children, on your own, with the whole familia or a bunch of friends.

Practical information:

CAR PARK – there’s plenty of parking spaces outside the entrance, along the road and a few car parks you have to pay for. You might need to walk a further distance from your car to the castle as the place can get really busy and you might actually need to spend some time on searching a free slot.

PRICE LIST:

Entrance to the park/palace premises (pricelist from April to October)

Regular ticket		6,00 zł
Students, pupils, pensioners		4,00 zł
Family ticket (parents + pupils)		15,00 zł

Guided tour of the castle interiors

Regular ticket		10,00 zł
Students, pupils, pensioners		7,00 zł
Family ticket (parents + pupils)		25,00 zł

 * If you wish to have an english speaking quide, pre-booking and additional cost of 30 zł is required.

General:

• Children under the age of 3 – FREE
• Visitors who have tickets for the guided tour are still required to buy additional tickets if they wish to visit the park
• Sightseeing of the interiors:

Monday to Friday at 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00.

Saturday and Sunday at 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00.

• For individuals who wish to connect to a bigger group and english speaking groups or visitors. pre-booking is required – min. of 7 days ahead, please contact reception desk (tel.: +48 77 466 96 79, e-mail: recepcja@moszna-zamek.pl).
• The Castle also offers hotel rooms, conference rooms, SPA, special events etc. ( http://www.moszna-zamek.pl/index.php/o-zamku )
• In case you’re planning to visit the interiors with an infant, strollers must be left at reception for the time of the tour
• Dogs are allowed in the park but NOT inside the castle.

WEBSITE

http://www.moszna-zamek.pl/

HOW TO GET THERE?

http://www.moszna-zamek.pl/index.php/zwiedzanie/dojazd-do-zamku

Moszna Zamek GPS Address
Moszna ul. Zamkowa 1, 47-370 Zielina
Polska, woj. Opolskie, powiat Krapkowicki, gmina Strzeleczki

PARENTS think – lets get a cute photo BABY thinks – leave me alone, will you!  (: