Ilža is located 120 km South of Warsaw. Here once stood one of the most spectacular medieval castles of Poland. To date the best preserved Gothic defensive tower of the castle.

The construction of the stone castle was begun in 1328 the Cracow Bishop Jan Grot after the devastating invasion of the Tatars. The building was completed in 1347, after which the castle collapsed first test – here the Bishop took refuge from king Casimir the Great. The Royal troops were unable to capture the castle.

In the fifteenth century castle buildings were significantly expanded. Were built defensive walls around the perimeter of the building, there was a drawbridge and a rectangular defensive tower. Along the castle walls were built outbuildings. After the fortifications, the castle became one of the best such facilities in the region. In 1588 was a huge fire that destroyed the castle. In the first half of the seventeenth century the castle was restored Eastern fortified gate. In 1607 here for a few days stayed king Sigismund III Vasa. In 1655 the castle was again burnt by the Swedes. The reconstruction did not even have time to really begin, as in 1657 the castle was damaged by soldiers of the Hungarian Prince George Rakoczy. Repair work was carried out several times to the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. After the partition of the lands, the castle came under the control of the Austrian government, here was placed in the hospital. After another fire in the middle of the nineteenth century the fortress in ilzhe was abandoned.

Today, the castle excavations. On the territory of historical fortresses are costumed historical tournaments.