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If the weather's fine and you're up for walking the nine-kilometre road and footpath from Ojcow, PIESKOWA SKALA , home to the region's best-known and best-preserved castle, is an enjoyable and trouble-free piece of hiking. Direct buses also run from Krakow (45min) via Ojcow. A few kilometres north of Ojcow the marked path (red trail) takes you through the tiny village of Grodzisko , just north of the main road. The tiny late-seventeenth-century chapel here was built on the site of a convent established here in the early 1300s by King Wladyslaw the Short (1306-33) under the patronage of his saintly sister, Salomea. Figures of both founder and patroness adorn the walls of this fine Baroque construction. Added curiosity value is provided by the stone carving of an elephant carrying an obelisk-shaped object on its back, located round the back of the chapel. Roughly 4km on along the roadside path the castle approach is signalled by an eighteen-metre limestone pillar known locally as Maczuga Herkulesa (Hercules' Club) rearing up in front of you, beyond which you can see the castle. Long the possession of the Szafraniec family, the castle (courtyard 8am-8pm; free) is in pretty good shape following extensive recent renovation, the fourteenth-century original having been rebuilt in the 1580s as an elegant Renaissance residence. As at Wawel, the most impressive period feature is the delicately arcaded courtyard, a photogenic construction that's a regular feature in travel brochures. Don't expect to enjoy it undisturbed, however: for most of the summer the place positively hums with tourist traffic, which can make a visit a stamina-depleting experience. The castle museum (Tues-Fri 10am-3.30pm, Sat & Sun 10am-5.30pm; 7zl) is divided into two main exhibitions, one covering the history of the building, the other illustrating the development of European art from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century, drawing extensively on Wawel's Muzeum Narodowe collection. The roomful of Gothic pieces includes some fine carved wooden statues of the saints by unknown local artists, a fifteenth-century tapestry from Tournai and some sturdy chests from the mid-1400s. The second-floor Baroque rooms continue the period furniture theme, sumptuously decorated Flemish and Dutch tapestries lining the walls, the most notable among them depicting a series of heroic scenes from the life of Alexander the Great. Completing the trail through art history, there are rooms devoted to Rococo, Neoclassicist and Biedermeier art and furniture, the last in particular sporting a fine collection of period exhibits. To finish off a visit, head for the restaurant at the top of one of the fortified towers, serviced by waitresses in regional costume. In summer they put tables out on the roof terrace, from where you can enjoy a fine view over the valley, and, if you're lucky, some excellent local trout.
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