Melsztyn

Melsztyn is a village on the left bank of the Dunajec river in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It lies approximately 5 km north-west of Zakliczyn, 25 km south-west of Tarnów, and 64 km east of the regional capital Kraków. The village was first mentioned in the year 1347.

The name of the village is a Polonized version of a German word Mehlstein. In the Middle Ages, Melsztyn belonged to a famous nobleman Spytek of Melsztyn, who built a castle on a hill. The castle stood for hundreds of years, and was burned in 1771, during the Bar Confederation, as Polish rebels fought the Russians here. Among the owners of Melsztyn were the noble families of Tarnowski, Jordan, Zborowski, Tarło and Lubomirski. The Melsztyn Castle is a ruin now, with an excellent view of the surrounding area.