The Castle History

The history of the castle dates back to 1082 when it was built upon the ruins of a Roman fort. Many years later, in 1469 and 1471, it was attacked by the Turkish army. Then, in 1520, the ownership of the castle returned to the Semenich family, and continued until the beginning of the 17th century.  In 1555 the castle was almost completely destroyed by fire, with only the chapel that was built in the 14th century left unharmed. There is no reliable information about who owned it in the latter 16th & 17th centuries, but by the 18th century Vinitsa was abandoned, and then owned again, mid-century, by the Guzik family.  In 1856, the castle was bought by Frank Frido, and in 1882 he sold it to the Alpe Montangesellschaft company, and then Henrik Grunwald bought it in 1888. The castle had burned down again in 1874 and also in 1878. After that it was resold many times by local residents, until Micha and Piotr Malich bought and owned the property for several years. Frank Michelik then became the owner of the rights to the complex of buildings in 1925, and since then the castle has belonged to his descendants.

Vinitsa and it's surroundings are full of prehistoric settlements and burial mounds. As a result of systematic excavations of mounds (353 graves) at the beginning of the 20th century, a rich collection of 20 thousand items was collected, and later transported to America, where they were sold in 1934 at an open auction in New York.

Coat of Arms