The offer is the latest plot twist in the colorful history of the castle, which reportedly once offered shelter to Beethoven as he was fleeing the wrath of Napoleon’s troops, and to a Polish king escaping the clutches of the Swedes.
Piotr Bujak, the mayor of Głogówek, a town of 5,445 in the south-west of the country, made his bold pitch to Musk on learning that the tech billionaire apparently had his eye on two castles in Italy.
Writing on social media, Bujak compared the region to northern Italy, drawing attention to its lavender fields and mountainous hiking trails while also highlighting its proximity to international airports in Katowice and Wrocław.
“We [the local municipality] are the only owners of the castle which will glow even more with a bit of work that needs to be done. It will be a jewel in our town and would be an impressive showcase of your investments,” he said, addressing Musk.
Should the world’s richest man succumb to this offer, he would be following in hallowed footsteps.
Originally built towards the end of the 13th century to serve the Dukes of Opole, the castle was remodeled extensively after it came into the possession of the Silesian Oppersdorff dynasty in 1561. The keys to the castle would remain in this family’s hands right until the arrival of the Red Army in 1945.
Of its owners, none would have a greater impact than 17th century count Jan Jerzy III, and it was under his patronage that the castle was expanded to boast over 300 rooms.
Among these were lavish bathrooms decorated with exotic seashells, as well as chambers housing a theater, a printing house, a pharmacy, and one of the largest libraries in the region.
The castle would assume national importance in 1655 when the Swedish army swarmed across Poland as part of the so-called Swedish Deluge.
To flee the danger, King Jan Kazimierz took refuge in the castle, arriving in October along with 1,800 courtiers. As fleeting as it was, the King’s ten-week presence at the castle has led to some historians referring to Głogówek as Poland’s temporary capital.
Certainly, the King’s short-lived stint witnessed some seminal moments—international alliances were plotted within its walls, and it was also inside the castle that the King was allegedly beaten by his own guards after being caught sneaking incognito into the room of Anna Szenfeld, his wife’s lady-in-waiting.
In 1669 Jan Kazimierz would return, only no longer as King. Having abdicated the year before, the former monarch stopped at the castle as he made his way to a new life in France.
The castle, too, would see misfortune. In 1800 a fire swept through it, leaving much of it in a parlous state of ruin. However, this would not deter Beethoven from staying six years later.
As unlikely as it sounds, the composer sought sanctuary there after an angry altercation with a certain Prince Lichnowsky. Taking exception to the prince’s insistent demands for entertainment, some sources suggest Beethoven attempted to smash a chair over the royal’s head.
To flee any repercussions from the Napoleonic troops at the prince’s disposal, Beethoven accepted an offer to stay at the castle in Głogówek—in gratitude, he dedicated his 4th Symphony in B flat major, opus 60, to his host, Count Franz Joachim Oppersdorff.
The composer also gifted his harpsichord to the Count, and today it stands on display in Pszczyna Castle in southern Poland.
Thereafter, the castle in Głogówek faded from the limelight, although we do know that despite being under the ownership of the Oppersdorff clan, relations with the area’s Polish minority were cordial.
This would return to haunt the Oppersdorffs when Count Hans Georg married the Polish princess Dorota Radziwiłłówna at the end of the 19th century.
When Silesia went to the polls in 1921 to decide whether it should be absorbed into the newly established Second Republic of Poland, Oppersdorff was vocal in his support for Poland, a move that angered the town’s German majority.
Hounded from his estate, he relinquished the castle to his son, who would remain in charge until the approach of the Red Army.
Given the Red Army’s fondness for looting and destruction, it is surprising that the castle survived. Unfortunately, the decades that followed were not so kind and despite later serving as a youth hostel, a regional museum, a gallery and a cultural center, the castle was allowed to go into decline.
Purchased by a private investor in 2005, plans to redevelop it into a hotel and conference were aborted. Seven years later it was returned to the municipality on the orders of a court.
With the cost of renovation touted to be 100 million złoty (€23.4 million), it is little surprise that local authorities have boldly offered the castle to serve as a European base for Elon Musk.
While it is unlikely that Musk will take the Polish option, should he do so he will find himself acquiring a property steeped in history and rich in legend—and his security detail bolstered by the ghost of a knight that guards the castle’s treasures.
