The royal castle in Dobczyce is located on a rocky hill above Dobczyckie Lake that was formed by damming the Raba River. Queen Jadwiga stayed in Dobczyce in 1391, and King Władysław Jagiełło in 1393 and 1417. These events are commemorated by the Jagiellonian coat of arms above the entrance to the castle chapel. During the reign of King Kazimierz Jagiellon, the castle housed an ‘academy’ for the king’s sons. Here, they were educated under the watchful eye of Jan Długosz^. In the 14th and 15th centuries the castle included 12 neighbouring villages founded on Magdeburg Law; these were royal estates constituting a non-gord starostwo (district established on land belonging to a king), leased over the centuries by representatives of the royal court, knightly families, magnates, and nobility. Each starost (head of starostwo) was obliged to keep the castle and the walls in good condition.