Zamek Książąt Mazowieckich w Ciechanowie

About the museum

Construction of the castle in Ciechanów began around 1355 under Siemowit III of the Masovian Piasts. The stronghold gave shelter to the townspeople and their property during raids, and around 1400 it served as a border castle, since the border of the Teutonic Order’s state ran along the river north of the walls. Archaeologists found two swords and fragments of Teutonic armour in the moat, which testify to attempts to take the castle; it was, however, never captured.

After the victory at Grunwald in 1410, Duke Janusz I made the castle his seat: he built a large residential building, raised the courtyard by 1.5 m and paved it, heightened the towers and walls, and surrounded them with a rampart with a palisade and a moat 18 m wide. Later dukes adapted the castle to firearms, raising the walls to about 10 m and the towers to 21 m, and moving the entrance to the west gate with a barbican and a drawbridge. After the death of Janusz II in 1495 the castle declined, and after Masovia was incorporated into the Crown in 1526 royal starosts allowed it to fall into ruin; Queen Bona tried to repair it, but the work stopped after her departure from Poland in 1556.

In the middle of the 17th century, during the Swedish Deluge, the castle was burned. In 1803 the Prussian authorities demolished the buildings inside the walls and used the bricks for a brewery in Opinogóra; the outer walls survived. Today the castle is a branch of the Museum of the Masovian Gentry in Ciechanów and presents the exhibitions “Fakty i mity ciechanowskiego zamku” (Facts and Myths of the Ciechanów Castle) and “Księstwo Mazowieckie 1200–1526” (The Duchy of Masovia 1200–1526).

Highlights

• Gothic castle of the Masovian dukes from the 14th–15th centuries
• The exhibition “Księstwo Mazowieckie 1200–1526” in the castle towers
• The exhibition “Fakty i mity ciechanowskiego zamku” with archaeological finds from the moat
• Audio guide with a narrator in Polish Sign Language, audio description and an English version
• Regular events, including “Spotkania z historią” (Meetings with History) in the courtyard

Permanent exhibitions

• Księstwo Mazowieckie 1200–1526 – intrygi, trucizny i smok, czyli 300 lat niezależnego Mazowsza – Exhibition in the castle towers on the history of the independent Duchy of Masovia until 1526, the development of the castle, the rivalry of the dukes and Masovian legends, including the wyvern from the dukes’ coat of arms.
• Fakty i mity ciechanowskiego zamku – The history of the castle told through the people connected with it, based on new archaeological research, with artefacts such as a 13th-century axe, shown in the Dom Mały (Small House) building.

Operated by

Muzeum Szlachty Mazowieckiej w Ciechanowie

Visitors per year

approx. 70,000

Admission & discounts

Free admission: On Thursdays admission is free for individual visitors; guided tours are charged for on that day.

Holders of the Karta Dużej Rodziny pay half the ticket price. Ticket prices (VAT 8%) apply equally at the castle and at the Museum of Positivism in Gołotczyzna.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

The castle is reached by a fairly steep paved path, and the courtyard is cobbled. The ticket office on the ground floor of the Dom Mały building is reached up 10 concrete steps, where there is also a public toilet adapted for people with disabilities. The doors between the ground-floor rooms are wide and threshold-free, and the exhibitions are on the ground floor and in two towers. Parking spaces for people with disabilities are on ul. Zamkowa and ul. Parkowa, about 100 m from the main entrance. Guide dogs and assistance dogs are admitted (with a certificate and vaccination record). The audio guides have a version with a narrator in Polish Sign Language, audio description and an English translation.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Stroller-friendly

A family ticket is available (PLN 50 for 2 adults and 3 children); children up to the age of 7 enter free of charge. The museum runs educational offers and events, for example “Spotkania z historią” in the courtyard. Pushchairs may be taken onto the grounds.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum is not responsible for items left on the grounds, including bicycles in the racks.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit