The renovated Łagów Castle is a tourist attraction. It is picturesquely situated on a headland between two lakes and houses a hotel, restaurant with the former knights’ hall and other historical rooms. The 24-metre-high castle tower offers an impressive panoramic view of the charming landscape. The adjacent park with art sculptures and open-air stage invites visitors to linger.
Immediately after the acquisition in the middle of the 14th century, the Knights of St. John began to expand Lagow Castle, founding a settlement and fortifying the estate with a defence wall and two gates and towers each. In 1569 Lagow was granted town charter. During the Thirty Years’ War, Hungarian soldiers devastated the villages and Swedish troops occupied the castle from 1640 to 1648. Around 1800 Lagow was considered the smallest Prussian town with 319 inhabitants. In 1810, the commandery became a Prussian domain for eight years before it passed into private ownership.
The St. John’s Cross still characterises the coat of arms of Łagów today and is omnipresent
The Church of St. John the Baptist is located directly below the castle. It was rebuilt in neoclassical style in place of a chapel built in 1536. Inside, two sandstone gravestones bear witness to the first Protestant commander Andreas von Schlieben and his son.
