Wojnicz is an old stronghold on the west bank of the Dunajec, where the road from Kraków to Rus' and the route up the Dunajec towards Hungary cross; it had a church of St Lawrence from 1109 and a market by the 12th century, and it was a castellany from the 12th century (its name is written in 1217 as 'Woynicze').
Its castellan ranked high among the Kraków castellans. The district reaches from Bochnia's brine springs to the Dunajec crossings at Czchów and Zakliczyn.
Who he is
- Name
- Not named for 1199-1200 in any source we could reach
- Title
- Castellan (kasztelan) of Wojnicz
- Since
- Not pinned
- Born
- Not known
- Family
- Not known
- Confidence
- low
No charter of 1199-1200 naming this castellan was found; Polish charter editions (Kodeks dyplomatyczny Małopolski) could not be reached.
Overlord
Duke Mieszko III at Kraków
What it holds
- Wojnicz stronghold and market
- The Dunajec crossings
- Bochnia's brine springs (first named in 1198)
- The road from Kraków towards Rus' and towards Hungary up the Dunajec
How it was acquired
A ducal office: the duke appoints and removes the castellan.
Allies and rivals
Answers to the duke and the palatine.
How things stand that morning
Held for Mieszko III; castellan not named.
Wealth
The duke's dues collected at the castle: tribute in grain and livestock, market and ferry tolls, the services of the castle folk; the castellan keeps a share.
Military
The castle with its garrison and the district levy; the castle folk owe guard duty, carting and labour on the ramparts.
Places of note
- Wojnicz: Stronghold and market; church of St Lawrence (1109).
- Czchów: Watchtower and crossing on the Dunajec route to Hungary; castle and customs house are later (castellan by 1357).
- Bochnia: Brine springs; named in 1198.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: en.wikipedia dates the castellany to the 12th century but names no castellan before 1300.
On the map: Bochnia and Czchów are put here by distance; whether they answered to Wojnicz or to Kraków in 1200 is not pinned.
Primary sources for Kraków (Mieszko III)
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Chronicle of the Poles, by Master Vincent (Wincenty Kadłubek), Wincenty Kadłubek (about 1190 to 1208). Book 4 is a contemporary's account of the fight for the senior throne of Kraków. Read online
- The annals of the Kraków chapter and the other Polish annals (kept from the 11th century; the Kraków chapter annals continued to 1266). Short dated entries that fix the chronology Kadłubek blurs: the deaths of dukes and bishops, Mieszko the Old's captures of Kraków, Prussian raids on Masovia, church consecrations. Read online
- The Hypatian Chronicle (the Kievan Chronicle compiled about 1200 at the Vydubichi monastery; the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century). The southern record. Read online
- The Book of Census of the Roman Church, Cencius Camerarius (Cencio Savelli, later Pope Honorius III) (1192, with later additions). The papal rent roll: every church, monastery, town and kingdom that owed a census to Rome in 1192, diocese by diocese, with the sums, followed by lists of papal lands and castles, the ceremonial Ordo and copies of charters. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.