 Castle history
The first Teutonic stronghold was built already in 1241 but the construction of a brick castle began only over a century later. It was
due to endless rebellions of the Barts, a Prussian tribe, who had never accepted the conquest and continually attacked the Teutonic outpost. Since 1243 Reszel was officially granted to Warmian bishops but the Teutonic squad left the stronghold only in 1300. Bishop John I of Meisen started the construction of the castle in
1350. It was continued (since 1355) by John II Stryprock, and finished
by Henry III Sorbom in 1401. Henry of Sorbom was well-known for his passion for grandness and it was in his time that a south wing with apartments for bishops and cloisters were built. The castle and borough fortifications were joined together. By the Treaty of Toruń in 1466 Warmia was incorporated into Poland.
In ab. 1505 bishop Łukasz Watzenrode initiated the construction of new fortified walls around the castle. The fortifications, strengthened by bastions on the corners, were adjusted for use of firearms. At that time Nicolaus Copernicus, the bishop’s nephew and also his secretary and personal physician was a frequent visitor of the castle. In 1594-1597,
at the time of cardinal Andrzej Batory’s rule, the castle, which had
already lost its military significance, was converted into a bishops’
hunting residence. | 
