Continuation of the construction of the “Big House” in the reign of Duke Bogislaw X (at the turn of the 15th century)
Duke Bogislaw X, called the Great, united the Duchy of Pomerania which had been divided by the descendants of Barnim I. He also gave Szczecin the status of the capital of the duchy, taking the Szczecin castle for his seat. As a result, he undertook work, which had started over a century before, in connection with the construction of the “Big House” in the southern part of the hill. The unfinished building was back then a one-floor building with cellars and the Prison Tower. In the reign of Bogislaw X, the existing cellars were covered with a cross vault supported by seven pillars (today’s Gothic Hall) and a two-floor representative building with a grand portal facing the courtyard and a great vaulted room on the ground floor was erected. According to tradition, that work was to do with preparations for the duke’s wedding with Anna Jagiellon, a daughter of Casimir IV Jagiellon, King of Poland, which took place in 1491. Needless to say, the great hall on the ground floor was where the wedding ceremonies, unmatched in the history of the castle, took place. The happy marriage of Bogislaw and Anna ensured that the House of Griffin continued to rule in Pomerania (Anna gave birth to eight children) and they lived on in the local legend, which is reflected in a contemporary monument of the ducal couple, by sculptors Leonia Chmielnik and Anna Paszkiewicz (1974), standing by the castle.
