h   i   s   t   o   r   y

he first information about Łagów comes from 1299, when Otto and Henry, the margraves from Brandenburg, conferred castrum Lagowe to the knight Albrecht de Klepitz. The fortress was situated about 500 m to the northern west from the castle on Sokola Góra.

In the middle of the XIV century, Łagów passed to Joannici, the order of knighthood, which shortly after that started to build the castle on the moraine hill between two lakes: Trześniowskie on the north and Łagowskie on the south. A craftsmen colony secured with the city walls and two gates was created at the base of the fortress. A commandery of Joannici was situated in the castle in the end of the XIV century.

The path to the castle led on the slope of the hill towards the gate in the eastern side of the city walls. There was a dwelling house in front of the entrance, closing the courtyard from the west. In the northern part there was a chapel and in the southern part, in the ground floor there was a refectory of a three-bay ribbed vault, supported on two pillars. The initial height of the building probably was 13 m, considering the level of the porch, which links the tower with boardwalks of the guard. In the southeastern corner, on the left from the entrance, there was built a tower about 20 m high, with a square foundation and cylindrical from the 17^th m of its height. There was a prison in the lower storey and guardroom with loopholes in the upper storey. The cylindrical part contained a room with two loopholes and a bay window. The highest storey with battlements was the platform for the guard. The tower jutting from the line of the wall from the eastern side was an efficient defence of the entrance. It had three functions: it was a watchtower, a prison and a part of the defence of the access to the gate.

Probably in the XV century city walls surrounded the castle hill with half-round small bastions in the middle of the northern and western side. There were loopholes spread in the city walls, situated in the porches jutting on the supports made of brick. The third line of defence was the city walls closing the part between two lakes from both sides. Further developments changed the defensive character of the castle. The area of the castle was built over in the modern times and an internal courtyard was created. The covered, made of brick neck 22 m long there are stairs leading to the base of the hill on the level of the castle courtyard. The tower was raised and finished with new battlements.

After closing the order in 1812 Łagów was owned by private owners. The gates: Polish (made of brick) from the XV century and Margraviate (half-timbered construction) from the XVI century remained in their original shape, except for the loop-holes, which were changed to windows in the XIX century. The castle, which was not destroyed during the Second World War, is currently a hotel-restaurant object.

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