Baranów Sandomierski Castle

Baranów Sandomierski Castle
South-western elevation
Location within Poland
General information
Architectural style	Polish Mannerism
Town or city	Baranów Sandomierski
Country	Poland
Coordinates	50°30′07″N 21°32′00″E / 50.50194°N 21.53333°E / 50.50194; 21.53333
Construction started	1591
Completed	1606
Design and construction
Architect	Attributed to Santi Gucci. Rebuilt by Tylman van Gameren.

The Baranów Sandomerski Castle is a Mannerist castle located in the town of Baranów Sandomierski in the Subcarpathian Voivodship, south-eastern Poland. It is one of the most important Mannerist structures in the country. The castle is commonly known as the "little Wawel". According to Polish law, it is a "class zero monument". Originally a residency of the Lubomirski family, it now serves as a historical museum, hotel and conference centre.

The castle was built around the years 1591–1606 in the style of Poland's Mannerism with richly decorated attics, side towers and arcade courtyard for Andrzej and Rafał Leszczyński (1526–1592) of the Wieniawa coat of arms. It is believed to be the work of a famous Italian architect, Santi Gucci, the court artist of king Stephen Báthory. In about 1620 the castle was surrounded by bastion fortifications and in 1625 its chambers were adorned with early Baroque decorations executed by the eminent stucco decorator Giovanni Battista Falconi.

By the end of the 17th century, the castle came into the possession of the Lubomirski family through marriage. Prince Józef Karol Lubomirski wedded its owner, Princess Teofila Ludwika Zasławska in 1683, and rebuilt her principal residence by way of commissioning the royal Dutch-Polish architect Tylman van Gameren (Tylman Gamerski) from the court of Jan III Sobieski, who converted the castle, added the western wing gallery and embellished the interiors with profuse late-baroque stucco decorations. The gallery housed their collection of art. Notably, almost two centuries later, all works of art were destroyed in massive fires, first in 1848 (with the entire library) under Krasicki family and finally in 1898 under Dolańskis.