southeast of the city. Łęczyca prospered in the period between the mid-14th and mid-17th centuries. The royal castle, built by Casimir the Great, was located on a small hill, protected by a moat with water from the Bzura river. The complex was made from red brick, set on stone foundations. It was protected by a 10-meter high wall, with a tower located in its southwestern corner. Gate tower was placed in the western wall, in the basement was a prison, and in the courtyard there was a two-storey tenement building. Rooms of that building frequently housed meetings of the Royal Council. In 1964, widespread renovation of the complex began. Another building was added at that time, which now houses the Museum of the Land of Łęczyca. Soon after its completion in the mid-14th century, the castle was named one of royal residences, and the seat of the Starosta of Łęczyca. In 1406, it was burned by the Teutonic Knights, but the complex was rebuilt so quickly that in 1409, King Władysław II Jagiełło attended here a meeting of his advisors, discussing the oncoming war with the Knights. Following the Battle of Grunwald (1410), a number of high-ranking Teutonic prisoners was kept here for ransom. Four sessions of the Sejm (Polish parliament) took place here: in 1420, 1448, 1454 and 1462. In 1420, a Bohemian delegation offered here the Czech crown to Jagiełło. In 1433, the Truce of Łęczyca was signed in the city. Furthermore, the castle served as headquarters of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, during the Thirteen Years' War (1454–66). The city's prominence came to an end with the Swedish invasion of Poland when the castle was overrun and most of the city once again destroyed, and it remained in a state of crisis until the Partitions. One of two main routes connecting Warsaw and Dresden ran through the town in the 18th century and Kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland often traveled that route. World War II During the German invasion of Poland, which started World War II, the Germans executed 29 Poles, including two families on September 9–10, 1939. Łęczyca was then occupied by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the region known as Reichsgau Wartheland as part of the district (kreis) of Lentschütz (Germanized word for 'Łęczyca'). The Germans expelled 330 Poles from the town in December 1939. Further expulsions of Poles were carried