The castle on Mt Świętego Marcina (303 metres above sea level) was erected in 1328–1331 by the castellan of Kraków, Spycimir of Melsztyn, who at the same time contributed to the establishment of Tarnów, located nearby. A prominent figure in Poland in the first half of the 14th century, he was King Ladislaus the Short’s closest advisor and a mentor to Casimir the Great. Over the years, the castle was successively extended by successive owners from the family of Spycimir, whose son signed his name ‘from Tarnów’, which evolved into the family name, Tarnowski. In the 14th century, the upper castle, with its cylindrical tower and the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was surrounded by a wall with the lower farmhouse. In 1441, when Hungarian troops invaded, the castle and town were ravaged. Around the mid-15th century, the wooden buildings were replaced by masonry, the high castle was enlarged and the defences were strengthened by the addition of two towers, one round and one square, connected by a wall. In the years 1519–1528, Hetman Jan Amor Tarnowski rebuilt the castle in the Renaissance style and surrounded it with brick and earth fortifications. Thus, one of the finest castles of the monarchy and a leading cultural centre of the Polish Renaissance was created. Over the years, the castle has been vibrant with court and scholarly life. After 1567, the Tarnów estate passed into the hands of Prince Konstantin Ostrogski. The renovations of 1657–1675 did not bring life back to the castle for long; its owners changed, and by the early 18th century, it was finally abandoned and fell into disrepair.  In 1747, Prince Janusz Aleksander Sanguszko authorised the Tarnów Bernardines to obtain material from the ruins to build the Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross. The castle was gradually destroyed, and before the Second World War, Prince Roman Sanguszko handed over the castle hill to the city. A park named after Independence was to be erected on it. Archaeological work was carried out in stages between 1939 and 1985, during which significant parts of the castle ruins and fortifications dating back to the 16th century were uncovered. In 2007, the Tarnów Castle Association was founded to revitalise the deteriorating building.