In the early Middle Ages, before the establishment of our state, strongholds emerged as an economic and social manifestation of the activity of magnates descended from the earlier tribal elders, as well as of the economically strongest social groups within communities known as opoles. Thanks to their social and military position, they were able to erect small strongholds for themselves. When Silesia became part of the Polish state, the tribal elders whose seats were these small strongholds joined the retinues of Piast warriors and castellans, soon becoming knights. From the 13th century onward, the wooden structures of castle strongholds surrounded by ramparts began to decline. Wooden-and-earth ramparts were replaced by stone defensive walls, while the outer settlements of castles were transformed into towns. At that time, Bolesławiec was moved to a new location. A stone castle was erected here (on the present-day Plac Zamkowy), along with a town hall and burgher tenements; the town was granted Magdeburg rights, while the old small stronghold on Wałowa Street ceased to be useful and fell into ruin, leaving only a trace in the form of the hillfort. We will focus on the small stronghold on Wałowa Street, where until the end of the 10th century there was probably a tribal center—something like the capital of the Bobrzanie state. Their defensive strongholds, with fortifications that had sometimes fallen into ruin, were taken over by the Polish state, which improved the defensive qualities of the old fortifications. New small strongholds were sometimes built because the locations of the old ones were unsuitable. Thus, numerous new knightly strongholds arose. Strongholds or castles with towers were a basic element of the defensive strategy of the Piast state.
There is remarkably little chronicle information about the Bolesławiec castellany. We know the name of only one castellan, NANKIER, mentioned in chronicles referring to 1202. The location of the castellany in the stronghold was a factor in the town’s development.
The Bolesławiec castellan stronghold belonged to a distinct defensive belt based on the Bóbr and Odra rivers.
The stronghold consisted of a small castle—the seat of the castellan and his household—quarters for a large garrison of warriors, stables, and storehouses. During attacks, the defense of the stronghold was concentrated at the top of the defensive ramparts. Barrels of water and tar, as well as piles of stones, were prepared there. Crenellations were sometimes built on the ramparts to protect the defenders. The weakest point in the rampart defenses was the gate. To reinforce the gate’s defenses, barbicans and portcullises with drawbridges over moats were built. Defenders were stationed on the roof of the gate.
In the event of an attack on the stronghold, the inhabitants of the wooden-built outer settlement took refuge there. Outer settlements gave rise to towns. The defense of strongholds by townspeople became known later. The Bolesławiec stronghold was of medium size. Its armed garrison must have numbered approximately 100 warriors. During combat, there were three to five warriors for each defender. The castellan also had a reserve. The garrison’s defenders primarily consisted of archers, crossbowmen, armored warriors, and warriors who hurled stones. Constant vigilance and readiness for combat, as well as preparing the stronghold for defense, were among the garrison’s duties.
We have no written information about the defensive battles fought for the Bolesławiec stronghold. Nor are there any material traces, since no archaeological work has been carried out at the hillforts of the Bolesławiec region. Defensive battles for the Bolesławiec stronghold must have taken place during the 11th–13th centuries, although no major battles were fought here during that period, as the Bolesławiec stronghold was surrounded to the west and south by a vast forested and marshy area. Geographers claim that extensive marshlands existed in what is now the Lower Silesian Wilderness, preserved to this day in the area around Parowa and Gromadka. The Bolesławiec stronghold did not lie on the route of the great Germanic military expeditions into Silesia; these mainly traveled along the Odra after crossing near Krosno.