The model of the lost Piast Seat – a medieval fortress that was destroyed during the earthquake of the 16th century and whose remains were demolished – was prepared by students of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. This is one of several concepts for the reconstruction of one of the most enigmatic buildings in Lower Silesia.
The reconstruction was prepared by Barbara Ziemko, Magdalena Ambroszko and Michał Grzywaczewski from the Faculty of Architecture of the university, students with a focus on “Architecture and Urban Design.”
“From the castle of Bard, only fragments of the foundations and small remains of the city wall have survived, as well as a semicircular staircase leading to the basement. Only on their basis would it be impossible to reconstruct the appearance of the fortress,” says Barbara Ziemko.
She explains that there is hardly any source material, so the development of a concept of the structure required not only a thorough and critical examination but above all to search for evidence, clues and similarities among other objects with the same purpose and chronology.
The students gathered all the information and consulted scientists to finally come up with their ideas. They also went to the Bard to take their inventory and photos. As they point out, the remains of the castle are small, but if you look closely at them, they affect the imagination.
“The defensive tower has an outside diameter of about 10 metres and an inside diameter of fewer than three metres. This gives a sense of the scope of the object,” explains the student.
The first concept for the reconstruction of the castle in Barda was prepared in the 1980s by the Polish architect Prof. Ernest Niemczyk, who was also involved in the excavations. Over the years, other visions of the castle have emerged, one of which can even be seen in the Wroclaw City Museum.
The students estimated that the castle consisted of a residential tower about 15 m high, a free-standing keep (or a tower about 22 m high of the last defence), five adjoining rooms and an enclosure wall with an entrance gate. These peculiarities allow it to be classified in the so-called Saxon-Hessian castle type, which was popular in the second half of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century
They assumed that the only entrance to the castle was a south-eastern gate that could only be reached on foot. They also assumed that the fortress walls of the castle were about 10 meters high and were also provided with a front chest with a crenel position. They also believed that the surrounding wall of the castle must have had support, since it was built on a rock, on a steep slope. In their concept, they placed them where the slope of the terrain was greatest.
The reconstruction was developed by the students during the winter semester under the supervision of PhD Roland Mruczek from the Department of Architecture History, Art and Technology at the Wrocław University of Science and Technology.