Brody Castle - Castles on Waymarking.com

Brody Fortress

Stanislav Zholkievski first built a castle here in 1549 and secured the town with Magdeburg Right. As a result the town grew rapidly.

Stanislav Koniecpolski surrounded the castle with a fortress from 1630-35 in the shape of a pentagon.

In 1772 the Austrian government ordered that the fortress be dismantled on the side that faced the town and the walls removed. All that remained was the casemates on three sides.

The wealthy Potocki family purchased the fortress in the 1704. It was heavily damaged by Russian troops during the War of the Polish Succession (1733-1738). Since the 16th century the Polish nobles elected Polish kings. In 1733 King Augustus II died and a struggle for the succession resulted in war. August II had illegally attempted to have his son, Frederick August II, succeed him.

France supported the return of Stanislav Leszczynsky as king. Leszczynsky was first elected king from 1704-1709 after Sweden had invaded Poland and through bribery had Leszczynsky elected. In exchange Leszczynsky was an ally with Charles XII of Sweden during the Great Northern War against Russian Czar Peter the Great who finally defeated the Swedish monarch in 1721.

The Russians did not want Leszczynsky to return as the Polish king and financed the election of Prince Emmanuel of Portugal. Empress Anna of Russia met with the Austrian Hapsburgs and Prussia to back their candidate.

France convinced the Polish noble rivals – the Potocki and Czartoryski families – to unite behind the candidacy of Leszczynsky. The two families convened a council of the nobles and passed a resolution forbidding a foreigner to rule over Poland. This action ruled out the two rivals of Stanislav.

Emmanuel dropped out of the race. Saxon Prince Frederick August then met secretly with Austria and Russia to support his candidacy. The Polish nobles gathered in August 1733 to elect their new king. 30,000 Russian troops moved into Poland to put pressure on the nobles. On September 12 the Polish nobles elected Leszczynsky.

A rival group of Polish nobles crossed in Prague, under protection by Russian troops, and elected Frederick August on October 5. Russia and Austria immediately recognized the rival king who was declared Augustus III. Five days later France and Spain declared war on Austria and Saxony.

Russia moved quickly and took Warsaw installing Augustus III on the throne. France had hoped that Great Britain and the Dutch would join on their side, but both remained neutral. With Russian troops nearing the Rhine, France quickly made peace.

The Potocki family began to repair their holdings destroyed by the Russians including their fortress in Brody. Stanislav Potocki built a grand palace on the grounds in the second half of the 18th Century. In 1812 the Austrian government, now in control over the region, requested that Vincenty Potocki dismantle all the walls and the casemates on the side facing the town.

Today the ruins of the casemates on three sides and the palace exist. During the Soviet period the palace was used as a military barracks. Today it houses an elementary school and the city archives.

Accessibility: Partial access Condition: Partly ruined Admission Charge?: no Website: Not listed

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