Rycerska Tower

Rycerska Tower is a Renaissance four-sided tower from the sixteenth century, part of the defensive walls of the Cistercian Abbey in Sulejów in Podklasztorze. It served as the entrance gate from the western side of the monastery complex.

Construction and form

The tower has a four-sided plan, different from the semi-circular, older neighbour - Mauretańska Tower. It is built of broken stone, and the gateway passages are made of brick in the form of arches. This construction corresponds to the Renaissance period, in which the tower was built, namely the sixteenth century.

The abbey it defended

The monastery complex in Sulejów-Podklasztorze was founded in the twelfth century by Prince Kazimierz II the Just, bringing Cistercians from the Morimond abbey in Burgundy. Over time, the monastery was surrounded by mighty defensive walls built between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, of which six towers survive to this day: Rycerska, Mauretańska, the 34-metre-high Baszta Krakowska (with an eighteenth-century superstructure that once housed a brewery, granaries and a clock), as well as Baszta Attykowa, Baszta Muzyczna and the late-Gothic Baszta Opacka. A mill once stood near Rycerska Tower.

Monument of History

The entire abbey complex is entered in the heritage register, and on 22 October 2012 it was designated a Monument of History. The abbey is considered one of the best-preserved Cistercian complexes in Poland and an example of Romanesque architecture in an almost untouched state. Today it functions as an active monastery, and a museum open to visitors operates in its eastern wing.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Opacka 13A, Podklasztorze, Sulejów.
• The tower is viewed as part of a visit to the entire abbey complex, together with Mauretańska Tower and the remaining elements of the walls.
• Nearby you will also find a Ringstand 58c combat bunker.
• Opening hours for the walls and towers alone, separately from the hours of the monastery museum, should be confirmed before your visit.