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Zamek Sobień

Załuż

Ruins of Sobień Castle

​Ruins of Sobień Castle

Sobień, formerly known as Soban (in 1372) and castro Sobyen (in 1460), is a medieval castle located at the mouth of the Adyszów stream into the San, on the border of the Bukowskie Foothills and the Słonne Mountains. It is currently in ruins, located in the village of Manasterzec.


The beginnings of the stronghold guarding the route along the San valley date back to the 13th century. At the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, during the principality of Galicia-Volhynia, a brick castle was built here, which first appeared in documents as royal property called Soban. In 1389, Władysław Jagiełło granted this castle to the knightly Kmita family. On August 5, 1373, Elizabeth the Elbow-high issued a privilege at Sobień Castle for the monastery in Stary Sącz.


Since 1415, the estate belonged to Piotr Kmita, who in 1417 hosted King Władysław Jagiełło and his newlywed wife, Elżbieta Granowska née Pilecka, at the castle. According to Jan Długosz, in 1417 the king travelled from Lviv through Felsztyn and Sobień to Sanok, where his wedding took place in the church of St. Michael.


After Piotr Kmita, Jan Kmita became the owner of the estate. In 1434, there is a mention of a castle chapel. After Jan Kmita's death in 1436, his sister Małgorzata Kmita Mościsławska inherited Sobień Castle. In the same year, her husband Jan Goły from Strzałkowo and Goliszew filed a lawsuit in the district court in Sanok against Mikołaj Kmita, the castellan of Przemyśl, who had forcibly seized the estates belonging to his sister. The dispute lasted until 1441, when an agreement was reached between Małgorzata and her uncle, Mikołaj of Wiśnicz, the castellan of Przemyśl. Małgorzata, already married to Mościc of Wielki Koźmin, ceded Sobień Castle to Mikołaj and his sons, along with the villages belonging to it (Huzele, Myczkowce, Uherce Mineralne, Izdebki and others).


In 1443, Jan Kmita ceded the villages of Lesko, Łukawica, Jankowce and others, located near Sobień Castle, to Marcisz. In the years 1456–1457, Stanisław, Mikołaj and Jan Kmita, brothers from Wiśnicz, sons of Mikołaj of Sobień, sued Jan Kmita of Wiśnicz, the castellan of Lviv, for the forcible seizure of the property due to them - Sobień Castle and the villages of Łukawica, Lesko, Jankowce.

Sobień Castle was destroyed in 1474 by Hungarian troops. In revenge for the destruction inflicted in Upper Hungary by Paweł Jasieński, Maciej Korwin led an expedition into Polish Ruthenia, reaching as far as Nowy Sącz and Jasło. In 1512, the Hungarians destroyed the castle again. Shortly thereafter, the Kmita family moved their seat to Lesko, and the abandoned castle began to fall into ruin. In the years 1518–1519, Sobień and Bóbrka belonged to Piotr and Stanisław Kmita. Piotr Kmita Sobieński (1477–1553), Voivode of Kraków, Grand Marshal of the Crown and Starost of Spiš, left 5,000 złoty on the Sobień estate to his wife Barbara, daughter of Jan Herburt, in 1541. After his death in 1553, Sobień came into the possession of his widow Barbara Kmita of the Herburt family. In 1580, Sobień became the property of the Stadnicki family, becoming part of the estate of Stanisław Stadnicki of Ożomla in Lesko, the castellan of Przemyśl, uncle of the famous Stanisław Stadnicki. The Stadnicki family owned Sobień in the years 1580-1713.


On September 19, 1880, during the journey of the Emperor of Austria Franz Joseph I in Galicia, the ruins of the castle were decorated with multi-colored flags.


On the night of May 9-10, 1946, one of the largest partisan skirmishes after World War II took place under the Sobień hill. The Panzertriebwagen 16 armoured train, commanded by Captain Jarosz, clashed in battle with the combined sotnias of Bir, Stacha and Chrina, which attacked the SOK posts on the Załuż – Olszanica section.

 

During archaeological work in 1965, Tadeusz Żurowski discovered a hearth and crossbow heads, dated to the time preceding the construction of the castle, i.e. before the 15th century.


Printing, framing of works, photo files: castlespalaces.picsell.eu/gallery/491

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