When it was built in the late 16th century, Tokivsky Castle was called the most beautiful fortress of Volhynia. It stood on an island — …
Tokivsky Castle — “the most beautiful fortress of Volhynia,” on an island, dismantled for a road
Castles and fortresses
Zvanets Castle — the fortress a Polish king destroyed twice while liberating it
1673. The Turks held Zvanets Castle. The Polish king Jan III Sobieski — the same man who was born at Olesko Castle — came to …
Sutkovetsky Castle — the fortress where the church is a keep, and nothing like it exists in Ukraine
In Sutkivtsi there are two objects. One is ruins. The second is still standing — and has no equivalent anywhere in Ukraine. The Pokrovska church-fortress …
Sydoriv Castle — a 580-foot “ship,” Khshanovskyy before Terebovlia, and a UPR cavalry victory in 1920
Locals say: “looks like a ship.” They are right. Sydoriv Castle — an elongated structure 580 ft (178 m) long and 100 ft (30 m) …
Dubno Castle — Never Taken by Storm, Sold Over Card Debts
In 1492, right when Columbus had just reached America, Konstanty Ostrozky began building a stone castle above the Ikva River. Over the next five centuries …
Alexander Barracks in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi — a Fortress Against the Turks, Built in Turkish Style
The barracks were built to defend against Turkish influence — and then designed in a Turkish style. That’s neither irony nor a mistake. It was …
Tarakaniv Fort — an Engineering Trap That Outlived Its Own Era
Amid the forests of Volhynia, off the tourist routes, stands a structure that looks neither like a castle nor a ruin. Tarakaniv Fort is military …
Yeni-Kale Fortress — the only example of Western European bastion fortification in Ukraine
At the narrowest point of the Kerch Strait, where the Black Sea gives way to the Sea of Azov, stands a fortress that blocked enemy …
Panivtsi Castle — a Calvinist academy, horse stables and a traitor who was hanged
19 May 1651. The Cossacks of Filon Dzherzhaliy stood at the gates of Panivtsi Castle after a failed assault on Kamianets. A Pole named Trzylatkovsky …
Buchach Castle — a Treaty Signed Beneath Its Walls Made Ukraine a State for 11 Years
On October 18, 1672, beneath an old linden tree next to Buchach Castle, three parties signed a peace treaty. Poland was ceding ground. The Ottoman …
Brody Castle — the Third Castle by One Team, and a Library With Mickiewicz’s Letters
Between 1630 and 1635, Stanisław Koniecpolski built three castles. At Pidhirtsi: Beauplan and dell’Aqua. At Zbarazh: dell’Aqua and Scamozzi. At Brody: Beauplan and dell’Aqua again. …