Ksiaz Castle History Part 2

History
After the local branch of of the Piast dynasty had died out, in accordance with the dynastic treaties, the castle went to the king of Bohemia and became the seat of starosts and burgraves. During that period, Bohemia was ruled by the house of Luxemburg which was then followed by the Habsburgs. During the Hussite Wars (1419-1434), when raubritters (robber-knights) were particularly active in Silesia, Ksaiz also fell intotheir hands. Defying royal rule, the robber-knights organized their predatory expeditions. The situation became particularly bad during the regin of King George of Podebrad. After King George's death, Matthias Corvinus, the king of Hungary, was encouraged by frequent complaints from Silesian cities. Thuse, he issued an order to take over the castle, which wasaccomplished in 1483by George vom Stein with the help of soliders provided by Hungary and the city of Wroclaw. Matthias Corvinus presented the recaptured castle to George von Stein for the latter's residence. Von Stien renovated the castle, which had suffered extensive war damage, and enlarged it by adding a new southern wing, called the Matthias Wing. After the king's death in 1490, the castle remained the royal domain administered by starost for the next seven years. In 1497 King Vladislav the Jagiellonean of Bohemia sold Ksiaz with17 villages an 2 towns (Swiebodzice and MieroszÛw) to Chancellor, John von Schellenberg, as a lien estate fpr 10,000 Prager groschen. In 1503 John's son George - with the king's approval - exchanged the estate with Peter von Haugwitz for Glubczyce. In 1508 John von Haugwitz inherited the Ksiaz estate, and the following year he sold it to Conrad von Hochberg.

According to a deed issued at Ksiaz on 11 June 1509, John von Haugwitz transferred the castle and rights to the adjacent estates to Conrad von Hochberg. At that time, the domain consisted of 31 villages and 3 towns: BoguszÛw, MieroszÛw, and Swiebodzice. From then on, the fortified castle became the principal abode of the Hochberg family, which began its illustrious advance upthe ladder of administrative positions and aristocratic ranks.

The next owner who contributed greatly to the splendour and prestige of Ksiaz was Conrad III (1597-1613). On 5 April 1605 he first acquired from Emperor Rudolph II the hereditary tenancy of Ksiaz (which replaced the earlier lease), and then for a price of 72,000 thalers, the estate became the family's freehold property. Historically, the first detailed, phusical record of the castle also dates back to the time of Conrad III: it was made in 1599 by the emperor's appraisers. At that time the Upper Castle comprised a square keep with an adjacent ducal suite with a large reception halland a bedroom. The ducal aprtment was connectedto a residential building. Beside these structures, there were also farm buildings erected in the upper court surrounded by double walls. A deep moat separated the upper court from thelower court. The lower court contained farm buildings, stables, a brewery, a blacksmith's shop, a shed, and two baths. The whole complex was surrounded by a dyke, walls, and a deep moat. Christopher II, the son of Conrad III, started a french garden on the southern side of the castle.