DOI issue:
Nr. 1
DOI article:Artykuły
DOI article:Wasik, Bogusz: Dzieje budowy i architektura zamku w Papowie Biskupim na ziemi chełmińskiej w ¬świetle ostatnich badań
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.71007#0103
Dzieje budowy i architektura zamku w Papowie Biskupim na ziemi chełmińskiej
101
Construction Stages and Architecture
of the Papowo Biskupie Castle in the Chełmno Region
in the Light of the Latest Research
Papowo Biskupie is a village approximately half-
way between Toruń and Chełmno. The first mention
of it dates back to 1222. A Teutonic Commnadry was
founded there in ca. 1278-84. This is the period
many scholars associate with the beginning of the
castle's construction. The works continued into the
14th century, yielding a stronghold consisting of
a convent house (high castle) and the bailey. The
castle was located on an isthmus between lakes and
there was a road connecting Chełmża and Chełmno
nearby.
The castle stands out for the fact that almost
entirely defensive wall building stone was used for
its construction. Brick was solely applied for
window and door jambs., vaults, and the crowning
wall parts containing galleries. The convent house's
layout approximated a square of a 42-m-long side
and had four wings. The main, northern one, housed
a chapel and refectory on the 1st floor. The other
wings housed dormitories and Commander's rooms;
the western one may have contained storage rooms
connected with the kitchen located on the wing's
first floor. The interiors featured cross vaulting,
while some cellars also contained tunnel vaults.
In the aftermath of the recent archaeological and
architectural research, many previous ideas on the
castle's appearance have been verified. According
to the latest ascertainment, the Convent House was
not surrounded by the parcham, a belt of hardened
ground, and was not separated from the bailey with a
moat. The fortified wall was raised only from the
side of the bailey where a ramp entrance to the castle
was featured.
The architectural investigation conducted in the
course of the excavations allowed for the recon-
struction ofthe castle's construction stages. The first
to be built was the convent house and its construction
was launched together with the raising of the
enclosure. Within the outer wall, windows and stone
projections were made in the place of the planned
walls and buildings. The second stage comprised
raising of the northern wing as previously planned,
this followed by the remaining three wings and the
galleries. With the convent house completed, the
entrance ramp was built. All these stages had been
planned and analyzed beforehand. The stone bailey
was built later, in the 14th century. The first to be
raised was the defensive wall, this later added some
buildings the remains of which can be found in the
cellar in the northern fragment of the bailey.
The recently carried out research has substantially
enriched our knowledge of the Papowo Castle,
failing, however, to clarify all the doubts. The
currently existing housing development hampers
a thorough identification of the castle approach-
bailey, while due to the destruction of the western
wall it is impossible to locate the entrance gate
leading to it.
Translated by Magdalena Iwińska
101
Construction Stages and Architecture
of the Papowo Biskupie Castle in the Chełmno Region
in the Light of the Latest Research
Papowo Biskupie is a village approximately half-
way between Toruń and Chełmno. The first mention
of it dates back to 1222. A Teutonic Commnadry was
founded there in ca. 1278-84. This is the period
many scholars associate with the beginning of the
castle's construction. The works continued into the
14th century, yielding a stronghold consisting of
a convent house (high castle) and the bailey. The
castle was located on an isthmus between lakes and
there was a road connecting Chełmża and Chełmno
nearby.
The castle stands out for the fact that almost
entirely defensive wall building stone was used for
its construction. Brick was solely applied for
window and door jambs., vaults, and the crowning
wall parts containing galleries. The convent house's
layout approximated a square of a 42-m-long side
and had four wings. The main, northern one, housed
a chapel and refectory on the 1st floor. The other
wings housed dormitories and Commander's rooms;
the western one may have contained storage rooms
connected with the kitchen located on the wing's
first floor. The interiors featured cross vaulting,
while some cellars also contained tunnel vaults.
In the aftermath of the recent archaeological and
architectural research, many previous ideas on the
castle's appearance have been verified. According
to the latest ascertainment, the Convent House was
not surrounded by the parcham, a belt of hardened
ground, and was not separated from the bailey with a
moat. The fortified wall was raised only from the
side of the bailey where a ramp entrance to the castle
was featured.
The architectural investigation conducted in the
course of the excavations allowed for the recon-
struction ofthe castle's construction stages. The first
to be built was the convent house and its construction
was launched together with the raising of the
enclosure. Within the outer wall, windows and stone
projections were made in the place of the planned
walls and buildings. The second stage comprised
raising of the northern wing as previously planned,
this followed by the remaining three wings and the
galleries. With the convent house completed, the
entrance ramp was built. All these stages had been
planned and analyzed beforehand. The stone bailey
was built later, in the 14th century. The first to be
raised was the defensive wall, this later added some
buildings the remains of which can be found in the
cellar in the northern fragment of the bailey.
The recently carried out research has substantially
enriched our knowledge of the Papowo Castle,
failing, however, to clarify all the doubts. The
currently existing housing development hampers
a thorough identification of the castle approach-
bailey, while due to the destruction of the western
wall it is impossible to locate the entrance gate
leading to it.
Translated by Magdalena Iwińska