Krzyztopor Castle

About

Between 1631 and 1644 Lorenzo Muretto worked on this mammoth calendar-inspired undertaking for the eccentric governor Krzysztof Ossoliński. The design and layout was intended to embody a calendar, with four towers representing the four seasons, 12 halls for the 12 months of the year, 52 rooms for the 52 weeks, and 365 windows for 365 days – plus one for use on leap years. Reportedly, there was also a 15km tunnel that connect the governor’s castle with his brothers, which was covered with sugar so the two brothers could visit each other on horse-drawn sleighs, pretending they were riding over snow. Ossoliński died only a year after his dreamland was completed, and it was severely damaged by the Swedish Deluge in the 1650s. Today, visitors can roam the castle grounds, explore its halls, climb the turrets, and marvel at what it once might have been.