Kynast
| Chojnik Castle | |
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| Zamek Chojnik | |
The castle of Chojnik
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 Location within Poland
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Gothic |
| Location | Jelenia Góra, Poland |
| Country | Poland |
| Coordinates | 50°50′01″N 15°38′37″E / 50.83361°N 15.64361°E |
| Current tenants | Brotherhood of Knights of Castle Chojnik (Bractwo Rycerskie Zamku Chojnik) |
| Construction started | 13th century |
| Completed | 14th century |
| Demolished | 1675 |
| Owner |
Krzysztof Leopold Polish government (last owner) |
| Website | |
| Official Website | |
Chojnik Castle (German: Kynast, 1945–1948 Polish: Chojnasty) is a castle located above the town of Sobieszów, today part of Jelenia Góra in southwestern Poland. Its remains stand on top of the Chojnik hill (627 m (2,057 ft)) within the Karkonosze National Park, overlooking the Jelenia Góra valley.
The building of the fortress dates back to the times of the Silesian Piasts and for most of its time was in the possession of the Schaffgotsch noble family. Today the semi-ruined stronghold is a major tourist attraction and houses a hotel and a restaurant.
The castle of Chojnik was originally raised by the order of Duke Bolko I the Strict in 1292 at the site of a former hunting lodge built by his father Bolesław II the Bald. The fortress was meant to protect the borders of Bolko's Duchy of Jawor against the menacing Wenceslaus II of Bohemia. Bolko's grandson Bolko II the Small, the last independent Piast duke, had the castle reconstructed starting from 1355.
After Bolko II had died without issue in 1368, his widow Agnes von Habsburg sold the castle to one of the courtiers, the knight Gotsche Schoff. Gotsche II Schoff modernized and expanded the castle in 1393. In the same year he donated the Gothic chapel, which was completed in 1403. The chapel devoted to Saint Catherine and Saint George featured artful paintings preserved until World War II. The castle survived the next centuries without damages. It withstood the attacks by the Hussites in 1426 and by King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, who after his campaign of 1469 destroyed many Silesian castles. In 1529 Ulrich I von Schaffgotsch expanded the building with two forecourts, depots and a pillory, and at the end of the 16th century Renaissance modifications were carried out.
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Wikipedia