View of Tuczno Castle

The first brick and stone Gothic house was erected on a square plan of 35x35 m with a square courtyard surrounded by a thick brick wall, with an eastern wing for residents. Situated on the top of a steep hill, surrounded by the waters of two lakes and swamps on three sides, the Castle was a well-defended fortress, dominating the town of Tuczno.
In 1331, the settlement was granted city rights by the Wedel family. For 200 years, the town and the castle have witnessed family gatherings and political meetings. In 1542, when religious aspects divided the Wedel family, the family split into two branches. One of them adopted the surname Wedel - Tuczyński (from the name of the city) and became closely associated with Poland.
Since then, further reconstruction of the Castle began. On the opposite side of the residential wing, a new building with deep cellars measuring 8x11 m was built. In the 16th century, the Wedel Tuczyński family modernized the residence. Between 1542 and 1581, Stanisław Tuczyński carried out a general reconstruction of the Gothic Castle, thus creating a completely new Renaissance building.
The sixteenth-century reconstructions of the Castle did not destroy the Gothic layout of the courtyard enclosed by a seven-meter brick wall. The years 1608-1631 brought further changes. Krzysztof Tuczyński added two completely new western and southern wings. The courtyard was closed with three wings and a brick wall.
In the 17th century, the facades of these wings received a new Baroque shape and the courtyard was opened by demolishing the wall. In this way, the medieval fortress was transformed, in accordance with the fashion of the time, into a rich residence of the Tuczyński family.
With the death of the last of the Wedels - Andrzej Tuczyński in 1717, the castle passed from hand to hand, becoming more and more neglected. In 1772, the town of Tuczno and the Castle came under Prussian rule. In 1846, the western wing was completely rebuilt, but the Castle still has not lost its monumental character.