A Brief Story about Castrum Chancin, Which Was Based on Metallum

Abstract

In 2013–2014, rescue archaeological research was carried out at the castle and in the town of Chęciny prior to the commencement of revitalisation works. During the research, previously unknown remains were discovered: a free-standing brick tower surrounded by a wall (Wenceslaus II – Bishop Muskata). The existence of a keep with a hypocaustum furnace (Casimir the Great) was also confirmed, while the element of the castle complex preserved to this day – formerly considered the oldest (the Great House) – should, in light of the new findings, be reinterpreted as a late medieval building (the Jagiellonian era). These discoveries allow for a fresh perspective on the history and architectural development of the castle, particularly regarding its origins and functions.

Knowledge of local minerals was generally derived from a variety of sources. Information about research, exploration, and processing of mineral resources was recorded, among others, in royal grants and chronicles, as well as in the earliest historical and geographical descriptions of the country. Many economically important minerals were known before the formation of the Polish state. This applied mainly to brine in Bochnia and Wieliczka; flint, especially from the Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski region; iron ore, chiefly in the Świętokrzyskie area; natural dyeing raw materials; building stones; erratics in the north; and limestone and sandstone in the south.

In the twelfth century, deposits of precious metals and other natural resources were sought in Silesia, Bohemia, and Lesser Poland. This activity was undertaken primarily by newcomers from Germany and Flanders, organised under the so-called “mining freedom”, with strong support from local rulers and powerful ecclesiastical lords eager to increase their revenues. In terms of legal organisation, Jihlava initially set the standard (the Jihlava mining law was written around 1248, during the reign of the last great Přemyslids, Wenceslaus I and Ottokar II of Bohemia), but it was later surpassed by the chief centre of silver mining in Bohemia – Kutná Hora – with the mining law of Wenceslaus II (Constitutiones iuris metallici Venceslai II). The beginnings and development of mining in Poland are of fundamental importance for the history of the town and castle of Chęciny.

It may be argued that Wenceslaus II was the founder of the mining centre, relying on a royal economic and legal framework. In this context, the construction of the castle with its symbolic tower – an architectural dominant for those who managed and guarded the mining centre within the royal domain – is of particular significance. It is also reasonable to assume that the development of mining and metallurgy preceded the town’s formal foundation (the year 1325 is generally accepted, based on the privilege granted by Władysław Łokietek for the village of Rykoszyn, in distrctu civitatis nostre Chancin). The Chęciny mining centre likely operated from the late thirteenth or early fourteenth century until around 1660 (the Swedish Deluge), though activity diminished in the later phase.

According to geologists, in the early period the chief resource extracted was not copper or lead but rather small amounts of silver present as admixtures in those ores; only later was attention turned to coloured metals.

Mining was conducted by means of vertical shafts and by cutting longitudinal trenches into the slopes. Horizontal mine galleries (adits) were probably constructed along these trenches. One such crosscut can be seen on the northern slope of Castle Hill, extending from the castle ruins to the parish church.

The mystique of the mountain-mine shaped the religious life of the miners, traces of which can be found in mythology and historical mining literature. There are no historical records confirming Queen Bona’s presence at the castle in Chęciny, yet the “spirit of Bona” is said to haunt its walls to this day – a legend that remains the most famous in popular perception.

In the mythology of many cultures, regardless of time and place, there exists the belief that minerals belong to the sacred Mother Earth and that ores ripen within her like embryos. Miners extracting ores disrupt the natural prenatal process, assisting the mother (Earth) “to give birth prematurely,” while smelters and blacksmiths – the “lords of fire” – transform the “embryo” into another state by perfecting the “spiritualised” matter. The legend of Queen Bona thus becomes a kind of mimesis of the miner’s “Lady,” personifying a natural phenomenon. Mythic thinking, pictorial in essence, is characterised by its inherent metaphorical nature. Myth always conceals its meaning – for there is no myth without metaphor.

The town of Chęciny enjoyed the special protection of King Casimir the Great, to whom the parish church of St Bartholomew and St Hedwig and the Franciscan monastery are attributed. In its earliest phase, the castle served as a mining stronghold safeguarding the royal ore-mining regalia. Comparable mining castles existed elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe: at Wieliczka, Olkusz–Rabsztyn, Złotoryja–Rokitnica; during the reign of Wenceslaus II at Kutná Hora; and at Zlaté Hory–Edelštein, Leuchenstein, Kremnica, and Banská Bystrica.