This immense building is an example of a fortress-palace. Such solutions were used in the 16th century, due to the development of siege warfare at that time.

Unfortunately, only the massive bastion fortifications with a pentagonal outline have been preserved till nowadays. Within them there are circumferential walls of three, or sometimes even four, floors and a quite large courtyard. The name of the building comes from the impressive bas-relief of a cross (Polish: krzyż) and an axe (Polish: topór), which were the owners family’s coat of arms, they were also considered a symbol of catholic faith. The building was designed by Wawrzyniec Senes and founded by Krzysztof Ossoliński, who was the voivode of Sandomierz at that time.

The castle’s design was based on the idea of a calendar. The number of windows corresponded to the number of days in a year (365), the number of chambers to the number of weeks (52), the number of ballrooms to the number of months(12), and the number of towers to the number of seasons (4). The horses in the stables had marble mangers for their food and could see themselves in crystal mirrors. The ceiling in one of the ballrooms was an aquarium, in which there were exotic fish. Now, the ruins of Krzyżtopór come back to life mostly during various knightly tournaments of Świętokrzyskie which take place there.

Although its glory has passed, even today the innovativeness of its construction is impressive. Therefore, Krzyżtopór is definitely worth seeing.